The Way We Were
by Lilyflower09
Summary: One word forever changed the lives of Lily Evans and Severus Snape. The two went from best friends to complete strangers with that one word, and their futures and demises were altered because of it. But what if that one word had never been uttered?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, but the plot is all mine. Enjoy!**

Prologue

Severus Snape, a fifteen, going on sixteen, year old wizard attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his fifth year, woke up in a generally brilliant mood. It was a gorgeous and sunny May morning, the very morning, in fact, that he would finally pluck up the courage to ask his best friend Lily Evans on a date.

The two had been friends since the summer before Hogwarts began, having lived practically next door to each other since the early years of their existences. Once it was divulged that the two both shared in magical ability, they had taken to each other quickly, and throughout Hogwarts thus far, the bond between the two had grown stronger.

There had only been one problem with their friendship. Lily was growing up. She was, and Severus had struggled long and hard for the wording, developing quite nicely, and more and more classmates of the male persuasion were taking notice. And at the top of the food chain of popularity, James Potter was trying harder than ever to win Lily over. Severus wasn't concerned about the conceited black haired boy, however, since Lily despised Potter with every fiber of her being.

There were others, however, who had been seeming to catch Lily's attention as of late, and the thought of her accepting one of their offers at a relationship worried Severus, who had developed a crush on his best friend throughout the years. What would happen to his friendship once she had a boyfriend? Would he be able to control his feelings of jealousy, as long as the relationship made her happy?

No, of course he wouldn't. That's why Severus Snape had developed a plan. Sure, they had classes today, but after that, he would give Lily the most relaxing day she had ever lived, and at the end of a perfect day, he would ask her out. It _would_ be perfect.

"What are you smiling about?" Lily inquired her voice a gentle whisper as they walked to their first class of the day. She had her books hugged to her chest and was staring in front of her to watch her footing, but her head was tipped slightly to the side.

This only made Severus grin wider. For as long as he could remember, Lily had always tipped her head to the side when she asked a question. It was a habit she hated, and at one point, she had trained Severus to always warn her about it so she could correct herself, but he had stopped alerting her. It was incredibly adorable, one of the many quirks of hers that he loved.

Loved. He hesitated in step, eyes filling momentarily with confusion before brightening again. Yes, he did love her. He knew he did, he just knew it. After spending five years as her best friend, he knew it had to be true. He wasn't just crushing on her anymore, like he'd always thought of it. Severus Snape was in love.

"Sev?" she prompted gently, turning her head now to look at him. "Are you even listening to me?" she scowled a little, and he laughed.

"Yeah, sorry, Lils," he smiled. "Just caught up in my thoughts, that's all. Why am I smiling?" he repeated. "I don't know," he answered with a casual shrug as they entered their first classroom. "It's just one of those days, I suppose."

"Good," she smiled sincerely at him. "I don't get to see you like this enough, Sev. You know, the way you are when it's just me around, when you don't have to try and impress anyone," her eyes darkened suddenly as the two took the table in the middle of the classroom.

It was always like this. The two always served as the dividing line between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, a symbol of disharmony if ever there was one. Neither of them minded much. Severus just enjoyed sitting beside Lily, and Lily enjoyed a reason not to be stuck with Potter.

Severus made to speak, but quickly thought twice. He wasn't going to chance doing anything to get Lily in a bad mood, not today. Today was going to be perfect.

***

"Sev, you go on, I just have to talk to Professor Slughorn for a few minutes," she murmured, touching his arm lightly. Heat shot up that arm and rose to his cheeks.

"Ok, sure, Lils," he nodded quickly, shoving his books in his bag. "Meet me outside," he smiled lightly at her and the two went their separate ways.

Before Lily could reach the Professor's desk, James Potter managed to intercept her, smirking widely.

"Potter," she gritted her teeth together, eyes narrowed. "Get out of my way."

"But Lily flower," he whined, running a hand through his hair. Lily watched uninterestedly. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"The answer is no," she declared, pushing him off to the side. "Professor?" she inquired before Potter had a chance to annoy her further.

As she and Slughorn began discussing the upcoming quiz, Potter rolled his eyes and signaled to the other three Marauders. They trouped from the room together, Potter and Black in the lead, as usual.

Lily thanked the Professor, about three minutes later, and left the room, eager to meet up with Severus again. She made her way outside to the tree by the lake, eyes widening slightly at the sight she beheld.

An argument between herself and Potter ensued, and flustered and irritated, Severus cut in.

"I don't need a Mudblood--"

Lily didn't hear the end of the sentence. Nobody really needed to in order to understand the ramifications of Snape's actions.

The friendship was over.


	2. Chapter One: The Way It Should Have Been

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, but the plot is mine. Enjoy!**

Chapter One: The Way It Should Have Been

~_As she and Slughorn began discussing the upcoming quiz, Potter rolled his eyes and signaled to the other three Marauders. They trouped from the room together, Potter and Black in the lead, as usual._

_  
Lily thanked the Professor, about three minutes later, and left the room, eager to meet up with Severus again. She made her way outside to the tree by the lake, eyes widening slightly at the sight she beheld. _

"Potter!" she shouted out angrily. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!"

Severus went pale. Lily shouldn't be seeing him like this...not again.

Potter turned to look at her. "Well, hello Tiger Lily," he smirked a bit, almost forgetting Severus was still dangling in the air.

"Put him down this instant!" she demanded, expression set in a harsh glare. "Do you think this is funny?!"

"It's quite amusing, actually," Potter answered suavely, giving a light shrug. He didn't seem to be phased by her temper any longer. After five years, he was rather used to it.

"If you think this impresses me somehow, you've got it all wrong," she informed him angrily.

From up above them, Severus frowned a little. "Lily..." he pleaded quietly.

"Oh look, mates," Potter laughed quietly, looking back to Remus, who was avidly avoiding looking on the scene, Peter, who was standing there laughing, and Sirius, who was still smirking up at Severus. "Snivellus needs a girl to defend him."

"I do not!" Severus protested loudly now, pale skin flushing a bit with pink in embarrassment. "I don't need a--"

Lily cut his words off by raising her hand and slapped Potter hard, snapping his head to the side. He looked back up at her in surprise and lost concentration on his spell, causing Severus to tumble back to the ground.

"I could kick your arse any day of the week, so don't say he needs a girl to defend him like it's so demeaning. You wouldn't stand a chance against me," she informed clearly, then for extra measure, added, "Go to Hell, Potter." She then moved to help Severus up and walk with him back to the castle. The Marauders watched on in a stunned silence as James raised a hand to his reddening cheek.

The odd pairing strolled inside without speaking to each other. Severus knew that Lily was taking advantage of the time to calm down from dealing with Potter. He'd never seen her hit anyone, not even her horrid sister. He knew, for his well being, to let her have her time and not speak to her until she spoke to him.

"So..." she stated slowly, running her hand through her hair and giving an exhale. "The weather's nice."

A small grin worked onto Severus's face despite his humiliation with the incident. He nodded, wrapping an arm around her. "Yeah," he agreed, tension gone. "It's sunny today."

"About time after all the rain we've been having," she noted with a smile, happy to be off the subject of Potter and his gang.

Severus smiled widely now at her. About time indeed.

---

"I don't think you can add that to the potion..."

"Trust me, Lils, I'm getting a better mark in Potions than you are. It's not dangerous. I think it'll help."

There was silence for a long while between the two working over their cauldron outside in the courtyard for homework as Severus dumped in a small amount of chopped up mint leaves. Quiet surrounded the two for quite some time as Lily sat back and pondered his statement. And finally--

"You're getting a better mark than me in Potions?"

Severus laughed quietly, dismissing her fretting with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it, Lily. It's the one thing I excel in."

It took a few more moments of pressing silence for her to remember how to speak. "But...I...I have the best marks in our year!" she protested, not understanding how quickly she could have lost that position as top student.

He smiled a little over at her, giving her a playful nudge. "I could always tutor you, if you'd like."

"But...how did you even..." She was getting a headache.

"Lily," he sighed heavily, placing his things on the ground and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe. In. Out. It's only because I do things a little differently. You follow the rules and get exactly what's expected of you while I add things in that I know will give it a little extra."

Lily finally paused in her confounded speech to look at him carefully. "Sev...?" she smiled lightly, biting her lip and tipping her head to the side ever so slightly.

Severus groaned and glanced away from her only briefly, turning a little pink. "Don't give me that face," he pleaded, dropping his hands to his lap.

"Sev," she urged quietly, pushing her bottom lip out just a little.

After a few moments, he dared to look up, regretting it immediately. "You're lucky you're cute," he huffed, half mumbling in hopes that she wouldn't hear.

Her face brightened immediately. "Great, so you'll tutor me in Potions?" she inquired.

He sighed heavily and nodded shyly. He didn't feel she should know how to use that look so well. "I'll tutor you," he consented with a slight, playful grumble.

"Thank you!" Lily burst out, throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah yeah," he mumbled, turning even more red.


	3. Chapter Two: True Colours

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, but I do own the plot. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: True Colours

"No, Lils, that's not how you do it."

"I am perfectly capable of brewing a simple sleeping draught, ok? It's not that hard."

"You're making it harder that it needs to be. Here, just crush it with the blade…"

"I don't know what that means!"

Severus knew then that it was time for a break. He sighed heavily and took a few steps back from their table in the Potions classroom, raising his hands in the air to show her of his surrender. "Ok. Alright. Just breathe," he instructed soothingly, taking a few moments before daring to move back and massage at her shoulders. "I know this is frustrating. I'm sorry. Let's take a break," he suggested.

With a light nod, she quickly pulled her hair out of her face, raking at her forehead to free the pieces stuck there by perspiration. "This is too hard," she huffed out, slumping down to rest her head on her arms, folded on the table top.

Severus looked down at her with surprise and stopped massaging for a moment. "Did I honestly just hear you say that? A simple little potion? Too hard for Lily Evans?" he asked incredulously. "I'm surprised at you. You've never quit before, and you won't now. You'll get it soon, I promise. We just need to take a break. Fancy some lunch?"

Lily shook her head, looking in frustration at the potion. "I just want to do this," she grumbled quietly.

Severus smiled at her and dropped in a sprig of peppermint. Almost at once, the liquid in the cauldron lightened to its proper transparency. "Stop going by the book," he whispered, sneaking a kiss to her cheek before pulling her up. "Time for lunch," he insisted with a shy smile.

She stared down at the cauldron for a while before scowling. "That's not what the book says to do," she mumbled grumpily, making no note of his advancement.

He laughed softly. "Let it go, Lils," he murmured, pulling her to the Great Hall. "Grab and go?" he asked, glancing over at her upon entrance.

"Better than me being stuck with Potter for lunch," she nodded, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

The two moved off to their separate tables and Lily quickly filled her plate. She barely greeted the Marauders, and didn't sit down beside Remus as was usually the custom.

"Hey, Evans," Sirius stated through a mouthful of steak after being prompted by means of James's elbow. It wasn't a greeting but a curious tone, one that held no interest for the upcoming question. "I need you to tutor me in Transfiguration."

"Not for all the Galleons in the world," she answered simply as she poured herself a bit of juice and walked off.

James scowled. "Way to mess it up, Sirius."

"Don't elbow me next time!" Sirius protested. "I'll bother her later. Don't worry s'much about it."

James looked down at his plate with uncommon frustration, but dropped it.

Lily paused at the door and scanned the Slytherin table for Severus. He was sitting down next to Bellatrix and Macnair, looking almost desperately for Lily. When their gazes met and locked, Lily only gave a small nod. She knew he was sort of stuck there, and while the company he was in worried her, she walked out to the courtyard and began to eat by herself.

*****************************************************************************************

Severus wanted to go back and find Lily, but it had been a long time since he had gotten the chance to hang out with his friends. He listened with a slightly jealous interest as Bella bragged about meeting this new Lord, Voldemort. It sounded like the man was nobility, and the group he was starting sounded like it was of the highest honour. Maybe joining such a prestigious club was what he needed in order to gain his father's approval. Maybe by joining, Severus would become nobility by association, and then maybe his father would be proud of him…

Something slammed suddenly into his shoulder, and he let the momentum spin him in the opposite direction in order to face the perpetrator, a third year girl known to be a Muggle-born.

An angry scowl crossed his features. Had it been anyone of cleaner blood, he would have let it go. "Watch where you walk, Mudblood," he growled out, interrupting the girl's apology.

The normally happy smile placed delicately on her face twisted into a look of fierce defiance, one that made Severus falter. He'd seen Lily hold the same look on several occasions.

"Try calling your girlfriend that," the girl challenged icily. "See what she does."

A little shaken, Severus stared as the Ravenclaw stormed off, but he dismissed it with a hushed curse. "It would do her good to learn her place," he grumbled and took the lead of the cluster of Slytherins.

"It would do all Mudbloods good," Narcissa countered with a meaningful glance at him. She caught her sister's eye, and Bellatrix gave a wicked smirk.

Severus didn't reply.

*****************************************************************************************

"Look, Evans," James sighed heavily as he sat down beside her on the brilliant red plush couch in the common room. "I know you didn't mean to slap me the other day."

"Yes I did," Lily replied without pausing in her quick writing.

James pretended he hadn't heard her. "So I've decided to forgive you and give you another chance."

"You know you've been more conceited and thicker than usual," she commented dryly.

A low growl grated in his chest and, before she could react, he had her pinned against the arm of the couch, forearm digging into the bottom of her neck. "You know what, Mudblood?" he snarled out, before a horrified recognition sparked in his eyes.

Lily stared up at him, her own eyes wide with fear as she struggled slightly for breath. What had he just called her? "What's going on, James?" she whispered out, breathing heavily. He was on her windpipe, after all.

He gave no response, but got up quickly and ran from the room.

She remained where she was a few moments in order to catch her breath. What had so suddenly come over him?


	4. Chapter Three: Strictly Businesss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but boy do I wish I did. That would be wonderful. Enjoy!**

Chapter Three: Strictly Business

"Full moon tonight," Severus whispered as he came up behind Lily in the library.

The redhead, who had been reading with intense focus by a bookshelf, gave a terrible start, practically throwing her book in the air. She turned to glare at him momentarily before picking the book up off the floor.

"Would you let it go?" she scowled, looking exhausted. "He isn't a werewolf. Drop it already."

"He'll disappear again tonight," he challenged. "You just wait."

"So what if he does?" she rolled her eyes and went back to scanning the black leather-bound book she held once more. "His mum has been really sick, you know. He has to go visit her."

"Every full moon? Lily, you're smarter than…what are you reading?" he asked incredulously, breaking off mid-thought.

She looked up at him and sighed quietly. "I'm trying to figure out if you can take over someone's thoughts and actions from afar. Like a long distance Polyjuice Potion."

Sev looked surprised. "I know Potter's been a prat lately but I don't think he's possessed, Lils."

Lily eyed him curiously. "How did you know I was talking about Potter?"

"It's all you've been talking about for days," he answered with an edge of jealousy in his voice. "Why do you care so much about him anyway?" he asked sourly.

"Because he's tried attacking me twice. Does that sound normal to you, Sev? He called me Mudblood. That isn't typical of him."

It had been a week since her first encounter with Potter and things were only getting worse. There was something seriously wrong with him, and she was determined to figure out what.

A quiet voice suddenly alerted, "Time to go. Time to go."

Lily looked at her watch and sighed. "I've got to go teach Black how to transfigure a book into a dove."

"You actually agreed to that?" Severus frowned. "Since when do you cater to them?" he asked softly. Lily was supposed to spend time with _him_, not the stupid Marauders.

"I'm not catering to them," she assured. "It's just like you helping me with Potions. Strictly platonic." She smiled, grabbed her bag, and left.

Sev's face fell as she walked off and he nodded sadly. "Yeah…strictly platonic."

*****************************************************************************************

"I'm trying," a slowly drawling voice hissed out into the darkness. "He's stronger than we expected."

"You're five years older than him!" a woman's whisper bounced against the stone wall of the castle and around the empty grounds. "If you aren't up to forcing the task upon him, I'll get the girl myself!"

"Don't be hasty, Bella," the man tsked. "It wouldn't do nearly as much damage if you were the one to bring her to us. I only need a few more days."

"In a few more days she could have figured it out!"

"It won't stop us if she knows what is happening to him." The drawling hiss became a comforting whisper. "She has no way of stopping it, and once I can take over his mind without interruption, she won't know how to break him out of it. She'll have no chance against him." After a pause, he added, "Go to sleep, Bella. The wolves are out tonight."

Somewhere in the distance, a loud howl broke the silence, and the two deceivers parted ways.

*****************************************************************************************

"You're sure you're ok?" Lily frowned over at Remus as they climbed the Gryffindor bleachers to watch the Quidditch game. "You look exhausted."

His tired amber eyes flicked over to her and he smiled. "I'm ok," he promised her softly as they found seating and he basically collapsed down.

She sat carefully beside him, regarding him as though he could break at any moment. "Is this because of your mum? Are you worried about her?"

"My mum?" he asked in confusion. Oh, right! His cover story. He shrugged. "She's doing better. It's not that," he promised. "I haven't gotten much sleep lately, is all."

Lily gave a small nod, conversation cut short as the teams took the field amidst roaring cheers from the stands. Immediately, she noticed something was amiss.

"Where's James?" she frowned at the stand-in Chaser dressed in scarlet robes on the field. "He didn't get detention, did he?"

Remus held a look of deep worry. "No. He was already dressed for the match at breakfast. I'll go look for him." He began to stand.

"I'll go," Lily offered quickly, standing beside him. "You should stay in case he shows up. I don't much like Quidditch anyway."

He glanced to her and nodded, taking his seat. Lily could hold her own if anything happened.

Lily hurried down the stairs so she wouldn't disturb the spectators who genuinely wished to watch the game. She reached the bottom and rounded the bleachers, slowing slightly to walk at a normal pace. As she walked along the underside of the bleachers, the referee's whistle sounded to begin the game.

In the same moment, a set of hands snaked around her waist and mouth, pulling her underneath the bleachers and restraining her with a strong hold. She struggled instinctively and screamed, but the cry for help was lost among the great cheers of the eager crowd above.

Before their excitement started dying down, thin black ropes wrapped around Lily's small frame, and a gag tightened over her mouth. She fought against them a moment and glared around to catch sight of her captor. Her eyes widened in surprise for a split second before the curse hit and she blacked out.


	5. Chapter Four: A Malleable Mind

**D/c: I do not own Harry Potter but wouldn't it be wonderful if I did?**

Chapter Four: A Malleable Mind

Remus fought his way through the victory party raging in the Gryffindor common room to get to the Quidditch team in the middle of the chaos.

"Padfoot!" he hissed, grabbing Sirius away from the younger girl his mate had been flirting with. "Have you seen James or Lily today?"

"Only during breakfast," Sirius answered, glancing back at the girl and winking.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well they've been gone all day…" he glanced worriedly at the window. It was black with nightfall. "She went to find him right before the game started and I haven't seen either of them since."

Sirius snorted. "Probably found a nice broom closet to make out in."

That earned him a scowl from his friend. "This isn't a joke," Remus insisted. "Something happened to them."

Sirius's attention was diverted by another girl passing by for a few moments before he looked back to Remus. He frowned at the dismayed expression he found there and nodded lightly. "Ok, fine. I'll go get Peter…"

*****************************************************************************************

Severus hadn't seen Lily all day, and they were supposed to practice making a particularly difficult healing potion right after Quidditch. He wandered slowly through the castle, running into Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew a few different times. What were they playing at?

"Severus," a sharp voice sounded behind him along with the rapid clicking of heels on the stone floor.

He turned to see Bellatrix approaching him and sighed, "Hi, Bella."

She didn't greet him back, but smirked lightly. "The Dark Lord wished to meet you," she informed as if bestowing upon him a great honour.

His black eyes widened. The Dark Lord? Voldemort? Was this an invitation into the society he so coveted to join? He nodded quickly, abandoning his search for Lily. Nobody refused the Dark Lord. Those who tried ended up being killed.

Bellatrix grinned and started leading him out of the castle and away from the dungeons, where Lucius was highly occupied with their most recent captives.

James groaned quietly as he came to in a barely lit, dirty room. The first thing he became aware of was a loud pounding resonating through his mind. He had a terrible migraine. The second thing he was able to process once his eyes had adjusted to the dim lightly was Lily, bound on the other side of the room by thick, shabby looking ropes. James suspected they were heavily reinforced by magic.

He forced himself to sit up, using the shackles that held him to the wall to pull himself upright, and squinted through the darkness to evaluate Lily. She wasn't moving, from mere unconsciousness and nothing more, James hoped.

A harsh white light infiltrated their cramped quarters and James shut his eyes quickly to try and keep it from penetrating. It was too late, though, and his head gave a nasty throb. He groaned quietly and leaned his head back against the cold cement wall.

"Oh good. You're awake," Lucius lowered his wand and gave a sneering smile.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" James growled out, squinting angrily toward the older wizard. He glanced in worry to Lily. Good. He could see her body shifting ever so slightly in a regular breathing pattern. She wasn't dead.

"Not very friendly, are you?" Lucius smirked, following his gaze to the pale redhead. "She looks cold," he commented uncaringly. "Let's wake her up and find out."

"Leave her alone!" James demanded, pulling lightly at the rusting steel wrapped around his wrists. Malfoy's methods were cruel in everything the Death Eater did.

A soft laugh left the man's throat. "I won't touch her," he assured. "But I'm not the danger to her at the moment. After all, you are the reason she's been put in this mess."

That was stupid. How was this his fault? "How's that?"

Lucius grinned, obviously pleased that he'd asked. "Don't you remember?" he taunted. "You're the one who kidnapped her."

When James was stunned into horrified silence, Lucius raised his wand and continued, "And she'll only have you to blame for future injuries."

Torches slowly flickered to life as he spoke, lighting the room and casting an eerie orange glow around the decrepit walls.

"I would never hurt her," James informed through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you won't have a choice," Lucius gave a sickening and cruel smile. "Your mind is unbelievably weak and quite easy to control, Potter. You've attacked her three times within the past two weeks, the last resulting in the present situation."

Much to Lucius's delight, James looked scared for the first time. He'd finally found the famous James Potter's weakness. Without a moment to spare, he waved his wand at the pathetic excuse for a Gryffindor, taking over his mind easily in its current state of confusion.

*****************************************************************************************

"There they are!" Peter pointed proudly at the map.

"In the dungeons. Perfect," Remus groaned. "Why aren't they moving?"

"I told you they were snogging," Sirius muttered, not grinning at his joke.

Remus didn't bother reprimanding him this time. It was much too late and he was too worried to deal with the stupidity. "I really don't think so," he frowned, watching James's name pace away from Lily's, and then back. Still, there was no movement on her part.

"What is he doing?" he murmured thoughtfully.

"What is Malfoy doing?" Sirius inquired just as quietly, pointing out the man's name slowly, as though his arm was too heavy to lift.

When Malfoy's name traveled into the dungeon, silent alarms went off for the Marauders. Remus and Sirius leaped up and darted for the portrait hole immediately, hoping they could make it all the way through the castle to the dungeons before it was too late. They didn't have to speak to share the same thought: This wasn't going to be good.

**A/n: Thank you for the two of you who have left reviews so far. Let me know what you think of that little twist with Malfoy I threw in. Reviews let me know if I'm doing a good job, so please keep reviewing! Thanks guys!**


	6. Chapter Five: Only Darkness

Page | 6

**D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Marauders or their generation. Just the plot is mine. Enjoy!**

Chapter Five: Only Darkness

Lucius released James from the mind control, and the younger boy slumped back against the wall he had been held against previously. His breathing came hard, and he was trembling from the dark magic he'd been forced to use.

"Lily," he gasped out in horror, hurrying to kneel beside the girl, who had been awoken by force and freed from her bonds only to be brutally attacked and knocked unconscious once more. "Lily, wake up," he pleaded weakly, grabbing her limp hand. "Please…I'm sorry," he whispered, shaking as he stared down at the girl he loved, who's pale and fair skin was now stained with her own crimson blood.

"This is what happens when you choose the wrong side, Potter," Lucius informed quietly.

James didn't hear him. "Lily, please," he repeated over and over, tears rolling steadily down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he croaked. "Wake up."

Lucius stepped closer and murmured, "She could be spared. If you and your parents will join us."

James shook his head, clutching tighter to Lily's hand. "I didn't want to Lily. I'm so sorry," he whimpered, closing his eyes beneath his thin framed glasses. He couldn't bear to see her in such a state, especially because of him.

"Join us," Lucius urged, "And I will spare her."

"I would rather die than join you!" James snapped.

Lucius took a step back and shrugged. "Then she will die in your place," he answered calmly.

"Oy!" a new voice growled out as James began to shake with renewed sobs. "Stay away from my friends!"

Lucius turned to the source of the noise, only to be knocked over and out by a fierce punch in the face from Sirius.

Within the same moment--or at least, that was how it felt to James--, Remus and Sirius were kneeling on either side of their friend, surveying the damage done to Lily.

"What happened, Prongs?" Sirius asked softly as Remus conjured a stretcher to lift Lily onto. James only shook his head. He couldn't speak, so he settled for moving close to Lily's stretcher and clinging for dear life to her hand.

"We have to get her to Madame Pomfrey," Remus alerted in worry. He shouldn't have let her go look for James. As if being a werewolf didn't make him enough of a monster, and this had to happen. "She barely has a pulse…"

Sirius looked back at the two and nodded. No wonder James was so torn up. He wrapped an arm around James's shoulders to keep him steady and guided him up to the Infirmary. James collapsed almost at once into the nearest chair and finally released Lily's hand, dropping his head into both his hands.

"It's my fault," he choked out, his voice sounding so very unlike him: hoarse and broken. "My fault…"

"What?" Sirius frowned. This wasn't his best friend. "How is this your fault?" he inquired gently, glancing to Lily, who had been settled on a cot and was now being treated by the nurse.

James refused to say anything more.

"We've done what we can," Remus told them gravely as he joined the two again. "We need to go to the common room and check back tomorrow afternoon."

Sirius nodded and helped James up. When the movement was resisted, Sirius assured, "We'll be back to make sure she's ok. You need to sleep."

James didn't want to, but finally he gave in and the three left together, vowing to return the next day to see if Lily would recover.

* * *

Severus was sitting on the couch in the Slytherin common room, staring at his forearm. He was trying to picture the Dark Mark he'd been promised upon graduation. Only another year and a half…

He grinned widely and headed down to breakfast. He'd been promised membership into the prestigious group that usually only pure-bloods were allowed in. It felt terrific. He didn't think anything could bring him down now.

"Lily Evans?" a small male student out of a group whispered, making Severus pause to listen in.

"Yeah," a girl confirmed. "Nobody knows what happened, but Susan saw Remus Lupin bringing her to the Hospital Wing. Said she was covered in blood."

"Black and Potter were there," another girl, Susan, piped up. "Potter was _crying_. I've never seen him so upset."

"She must be in bad shape," the boy murmured gravely. "If he was crying, she probably doesn't have much longer…"

They fell into a grim silence and walked toward the Great Hall.

Severus, who was frozen to the spot at the news, turned quickly and raced to the Hospital Wing. '_Please let this be a mistake. I should have looked harder for her earlier,' _he thought desperately as he burst into the vast Infirmary.

Potter was there, sitting by a bed in a stony silence. In the bed, it was as Severus had feared. Lily was there, unconscious, and every inch of skin that he could see was covered in cuts and scars. Some appeared to have been too deep to heal in one try, and one on her cheek had even started slowly bleeding again.

He moved toward the bed without being aware of walking any, staring in horrified shock at the girl he was still planning to ask out.

"What happened?" he asked hoarsely.

James was silent for a while before the question registered. "Malfoy…" He left it at that, unable to force himself to face the truth.

Severus felt a sickening rage wash over him. How could Lucius, his friend, do something so terrible as attack his best friend, the girl loved?

"Is she going to be ok?" he asked, hardly realizing how strained his voice was. This whole thing was surreal for him, for both of them, he imagined.

Again, there was a long pause. "We…uhm…we don't know yet," James cleared his throat loudly and ran his hand through his hair. His other hand grasped Lily's hopefully. "She isn't responding well right now, but Madame Pomfrey is trying everything she can."

Severus nodded slowly, pulling up a chair. "Mind if I stay for a bit?" he inquired quietly, expecting to be hexed for asking.

"No," James mumbled out instead, brown eyes locked on Lily's face. "I don't mind…"

* * *

It had been so dark for so long. There was no noise from the outer world, and no light had come either. For now there was only the sudden realization of darkness, and no other thought. But still, it was an improvement.

On the third day of nothingness, thoughts slowly returned. How long had the darkness been suffocating her? Was she merely waking up from a nap? No, something happened to her that shouldn't have, to force her into this black nowhere.

It wasn't until the fourth day that she started to remember. There was something about James, and a lot of screaming. So she was hurt, not just sleeping, and hurt badly as far as she could evaluate. She couldn't feel anything yet, but from her slowly returning memories, she could tell it wasn't good.

For the next day and a half, she was forced to deal with her terrifying memories. From the time she'd first been awoken in the dungeon by means of the Torturing Curse to the time she'd passed out from exhaustion and pain, all she could remember was James. A shudder of

fear ran through her and then suddenly, a burst of sound penetrated the slowly thinning fog in her mind.

"Did you see that?! She moved!"

James. It was the voice of the very person she wanted least to hear. Another shudder ran through her, and this time she felt pain.

"I saw it that time!"

Remus. Potter wouldn't do anything to harm her while Remus was there. He would protect her.

Somebody was holding her hand. "Lily?" a soft voice asked, almost as if fearful she wasn't really responding. "Please wake up," the whispering voice was the only one she could make out through the dozens of other noises in the room.

Severus! Relief flooded through her, momentarily blocking out the worsening pain. She felt a hundred times better knowing her best friend was there with her.

The darkness was still too heavy. He continued to plead that she wake up and as much as she tried, she couldn't fight through it.

"That's enough!" a sharp voice reprimanded, making Lily lose focus on her task. The pain returned with alarming force, invading every joint and muscle in Lily's body. "Miss Evans needs proper time to recover. You can come back to visit tomorrow."

_'No!'_ Lily moaned inwardly, trying to propel the word out of its spot lodged in her throat. She felt Severus's hand reluctantly pull out of hers.

She heard the heavy wooden doors open and shut, and sank back into the growing pain that was branching through her body. Just as she had given up, though, someone took her hand and kissed it.

"I love you, Lily Evans," Severus's voice murmured. "I always will. No matter what happens."

Then the door opened and closed again, and he was gone again.

Lily stared into the darkness without opening her eyes in shock. He loved her? What was she supposed to do now?


	7. Chapter Six: Bring Me To Life

Page | 3

D/c: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters in this story. I did, however, find out recently that my mother intended to name me Lily, but did not. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in my life. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Six: Bring Me to Life

On the seventh day, the pain became too much to continue oppressing.

James gave a start out of his half sleep as Lily cried out. He leaned forward quickly to see her eyes fly open and squint in agony. "Lily? Hey, you ok?" he whispered, overjoyed to see her awake.

Her eyes shot over to him and widened in fear. "Get away from me," she demanded hoarsely, trying to pull herself away from him. Her muscles were still too weak and she slumped back against the bed, glaring at him. "Stay away from me."

James couldn't blame her for reacting as she was, but his heart still dropped. "Lily, please. Let me explain." He reached out carefully to take her hand.

She pulled away and screamed out in apprehension. "Don't hurt me!" she pleaded.

James looked bewildered, pausing but keeping his hand in the air about three quarters of the way from where he sat to her hand. "Lily, I'm not-"

"Potter, leave her alone," Severus growled, eyes flashing angrily at the scene before him. For whatever reason, Lily was terrified of Potter, and Severus didn't like seeing her upset, though it was a relief to see her awake. Not to mention it was a dream come true for him to see Lily reacting so badly to Potter's presence.

James looked torn at the sight of Lily cowering before him. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her before standing and walking out.

Severus moved quickly to her and sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you alright?" he murmured, stroking her hair gently.

She grabbed his hand and hugged it to her chest. He blushed slightly and was careful not to move it in order to avoid touching anything he shouldn't.

"Thank you," she whimpered gratefully. "I didn't want to get hurt again."

"You won't," he vowed quietly, resuming stroking her hair with his free hand. Several of her wounds were all too familiar to him, a result of his hateful Muggle father, and he hated to see her suffering like this. "I'm never going to let you get hurt again," he told her, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She smiled in contentment at that and kissed his arm. "Hey, Sev?"

"Yeah, Lils?"

There was a pause in which her eyes closed and she started falling asleep again. "I love you, too."

* * *

SUMMER

"Mum, don't forget to bring suntan lotion," Lily called down the stairs from her room.

She glanced around, taking a quick survey of anything she'd missed. A Muggle suitcase lay open on her bed, filled with neatly packed clothes. Severus sat at the end of the bed, his own suitcase zipped up on the floor, ready to go. He looked quite bored waiting for her to finish.

After a moment's hesitation, the sixteen year old girl, wearing black bermuda style shorts and a form fitting purple short sleeved top, strode across the room and pulled something from her dresser. She shoved it quickly into her suitcase, but she wasn't fast enough to prevent Severus from seeing.

"I thought you said you were only bringing a one piece to swim in," he grinned.

She glanced over at him and zipped up her suitcase. "I might need that one," she answered casually. "I just don't know if I want it yet. I still have a few scars…"

Healing from her encounter with Potter had been painful, both physically and emotionally. Only the deep wounds had scarred, but there were enough of them to keep her from showing much skin. While preparing for the Evans's vacation, Lily had debated fiercely with herself about which bathing suit to bring.

She still felt quite uncomfortable with herself after the incident, but she had forgiven Potter. He'd found her studying alone in the common room one night and had explained what Malfoy had done. Now, over the summer, away from all that, she was feeling more comfortable with each passing day. Having her mother agree to let Severus accompany them had boosted Lily's confidence tremendously as well. Getting her father's consent… well, that hadn't really ever happened, but the knowledge that Severus would be coming with the family put Lily at enough ease to relieve all tensions she'd been feeling since the attack.

The two were finally dating, much to Severus's relief. It had been far too long since he'd set in place his plan to ask Lily to be his girlfriend. After an awkward conversation in which Lily informed him she'd been coming out of her coma at the time of his declaration of love, they'd mutually decided to make it official. It seemed to have helped on Lily's recovery in a considerable manner, which was wonderful news to Severus, as well as a fantastic boost to his ego.

The doorbell rang five times in a terribly irritating fashion as Lily pulled her suitcase onto the floor and dragged it down the stairs. She hadn't realized they'd been expecting company.

"Mum? Should I get it?" she called into the kitchen as she placed her luggage by the sofa and moved so Severus could do the same. "Or should we ignore it since we're leaving?"

"Oh, dear, did I forget to tell you?" Annabel's eyes sparkled as she walked into the room. "I invited along another family of wizards," she smiled excitedly, flinging open the door to receive them.

Lily and Severus exchanged uncertain glances before looking in surprise to their guests.

"Hey, Lily flower," James greeted with a lopsided smirk, hair as messy as ever as he stepped inside. "Miss me?"

Author's note: Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. It's almost finals week, so once the fifteenth rolls around, I shall be free to update to my heart's content. However, this means you all need to review avidly or else I will not know how this fanfiction is doing. You guys have been great with leaving reviews, so thanks to all who have been, and keep up the good work!


	8. Chapter Seven: Boys Will Be Boys

Page | 6

**D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or the Marauders, but wouldn't that be nifty? Enjoy!**

Chapter Seven: Boys Will Be Boys

"We aren't all going to fit," Lily frowned, looking at the Evans's van. "Won't we need two cars?" she inquired, completely opposed to James and Sirius's presences. Remus, she didn't mind so much. He seemed sane enough.

Annabel nodded. "I'll take one car and your father will take another. Don't worry." She sighed, leaning over to whisper, "Petunia and Vernon can ride with your father."

Lily nodded simply, lips pulled into a thin straight line. "Alright," she answered and walked away to put her suitcase in the back of the van.

Annabel watched her youngest daughter sadly. She had been told of Lily's recent trip to the school's hospital wing, and of James's situation. That had been the woman's reasoning for inviting the Potter's along, having the hopes that it would repair Lily's relationship with the boy, as well as her daughter's self-esteem. The poor girl hadn't shown a single smile since returning from school. What was worse, she had stopped retaliating when Petunia made rude comments regarding Lily's schooling.

Todd Evans walked over and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. "How is she doing?" he asked softly, frowning as he watched Petunia saying something to Lily, who merely shrugged and mumbled something before walking off again. It wasn't right. Their little girl was fierce; she wasn't one to let anyone walk all over her like she was now.

"No change yet," Annabel sighed quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I really hope this helps," she murmured, also having followed the exchange between the two. "I want our daughter back."

Todd kept his eyes on Lily and nodded in sorrowful agreement. "Me too."

* * *

"But what keeps the car running?"

"Fuel, James."

"What kind of fuel?"

"Gasoline."

"What is that?"

"Fuel."

"What kind of fuel?"

"The kind that makes a car move, James."

"Oh…but how?"

"I don't know, James."

An hour into the trip, James was still asking Lily about every detail of a car. Lily had been fine with it for the first fifteen minutes, but for the past forty-five, she had been on the verge of falling asleep against Severus's shoulder in the middle row of the van's seats. Her answers had become blunt, weary, and annoyed. James hadn't quite gotten the hint. He was silent, puzzling it over for a few moments before--

"Well what about-?"

"James," Remus hissed softly from the left of James, pointing to Lily from a row of seats back. "She's sleeping. Let her be."

Severus grinned to himself as he wrapped his arm around Lily and rubbed her arm gently with his thumb. At long last, he had something Potter didn't, the one thing Potter coveted more than anything else he couldn't have. Finally he was the one being envied, as opposed to envying. He relaxed and closed his eyes to revel in it. Ah, it felt good.

James scowled at that and looked away from the two in the seats ahead. Snape was a prat. James was positive the greasy git was only using Lily in order to have something James didn't.

"He doesn't love her," he grumbled, just quietly enough to keep Severus from hearing. "He just wants something I don't have."

"Let it go, James," Remus advised in a bored tone, halfway to sleep himself. "He's just trying to get his pathetic shots in. She'll come around."

But in the days that followed, nothing of the sort happened. When the country club vacation reached day four, James impatiently strode up to Remus, who was reading beside the pool.

"She has not come around," he informed with a huff, pulling off his shirt and discarding it along with his towel before he sat. "She just finished shouting at me, actually."

"That's a good sign, you know. She hasn't tried shouting at you in ages," Remus smirked, closing his eyes against the sun. "What did you do?"

"She was trying to pick a bathing suit. All I did was told her she'd look nice in the blue one!"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "What kind of bathing suit was it, Prongs?"

"A bikini… So what?" he scowled. "Blue would look better on her than purple."

"James, she probably thought you were trying to hit on her again."

"But I wasn't!" he insisted. "I was complimenting her!"

Remus laughed softly.

"Why is this funny?! She's driving me mental!"

"You're so thick," Remus answered, still grinning widely. "Just give her time. She'll come around."

"You said that four days ago," James groaned out in frustration and lay back in the chair. "Why is it taking her so long?"

"She doesn't trust you anymore, mate," he shrugged. "It's going to take you a while to earn that back. Even if it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but-" James paused as he caught sight of Lily coming toward them with Severus in tow.

James grinned as she stepped onto the wet stone ground surrounding the pool. She looked highly uncomfortable, but she'd chosen the blue suit after all.

* * *

"Lily? Are you sleeping?"

"Almost," she mumbled out, curled up in Sev's hold on her bed. She could still hear the voices on the television, but it sounded far away, like it was playing underwater.

"Ok, just checking. Have a nice nap, love," Severus whispered softly, smiling down at his girlfriend, who was barely conscious.

"Love you," she answered faintly before giving in to slumber.

Severus grinned widely and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Lily," he assured her before settling to nap beside her.

Annabel peeked in to make sure they were being appropriate and smiled. They were both so cute. She walked away after carefully closing the door. Lily seemed to be returning to her old happy self, and Annabel knew it was because of Severus. She appreciated the boy all the more for it.

"Hi boys," she smiled as she entered the kitchen, where James, Remus, and Sirius were quickly assembling sandwiches for lunch.

"Hi Mrs. Evans," they answered back at slightly different times.

"Do you know where Lily is?" James inquired.

"She's in her room getting some rest," Annabel answered, reaching into the fridge to grab a pear. "I'm surprised you three haven't collapsed yet with all you do."

Remus smiled. "Why do you think we eat so much?" he glanced over to Sirius, who had already shoved half of his sandwich in his mouth. Remus rolled his eyes.

Annabel laughed softly and shook her head. "Don't forget we're going out to eat and then to the beach after," she alerted and left the three to their meal.

Remus was still watching Sirius cram food into his mouth.

Sirius paused to reach for another slice of turkey, holding his sandwich with his teeth as he caught Remus's eyes. "Wha're 'oo 'taring ah?"

Remus rolled his eyes started putting things away. "You know, sometimes I don't know why I hang out with you."

**A/n: So I haven't updated in a while, and I thought it was about time. You guys have to start reviewing though, or else I don't know if it's worth it or not. I tend to update as soon as I answer reviews, but if there aren't reviews to answer, it'll take more time to update. Thanks for what you've written so far! =)**


	9. Chapter Eight: Left Behind

Page | 6

D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or anything really in this story except for the plot.

Chapter Eight: Left Behind

Vacation had waned away and the summer was moving quickly to a close. Each party had returned to their respective homes after their weeks relaxing at the country club and, to James's dismay, Lily had not yet decided to love him. In fact, she'd gravitated more toward Severus than ever.

Staying at the country club had helped coax her slightly out of her quiet reservation, but it was only when the Evans's returned home that she became herself again. Now with a few weeks left in August, Lily was finally able to separate herself from the confusion of the world. In this way, she could cope and heal.

Annabel and Todd were pleased to find that when Lily decided to emerge from her room --and appearances were become more frequent-- that she interacted and helped around the house quite happily. Not even Severus had made her so happy.

"Hey mum?" Lily skipped into the kitchen an hour or so before lunch, snapping Annabel out of her deep thoughts. "Oh, hi daddy," she grinned, swooping down to kiss Todd on the cheek, and then her mum.

"Hi, sweetheart," Todd smiled softly, folding up his newspaper. "How are you?"

"I am fantastic," she answered honestly, smiling at them both. "Do you guys think we can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I just got my letter."

Todd glanced over at Annabel and sighed. "We need to talk, love," he told Lily gently as he pulled her onto his lap.

"What's wrong?" she asked, eyes immediately darkening with worry.

"Nothing's wrong," he assured soothingly. "We just wanted to make sure you're happy."

She sighed in relief. "Of course I am," she nodded, giving him a smile.

"And you like being home with us, right?" Annabel joined in softly.

"Well sure I do, mum," Lily nodded again, looking confused.

Todd sighed and looked at her carefully. "Sweetheart, we think it might be best if you stay home this year."

Lily froze as the words sank in. "Stay home? You mean not go back to school? But I have to!" she insisted. "I can't stay home! I'm starting my NEWT courses this year!"

"We just want to keep you safe, Lily," Annabel frowned. "You've been so happy away from all the distractions of school."

"Distractions? You mean Potter, don't you?" She stood up and crossed her arms.

"Not only him," Todd protested. "Ever since they all left, you've been so much happier."

"All of them? So you mean Severus? My boyfriend is the reason I didn't seem happy? Is that what you mean?" she scowled.

"No, that's not," Todd frowned. "We just think it's best if you aren't exposed to that sort of thing anymore."

"I can't stop using magic," Lily answered bitterly. "It's dangerous, and I'm still underage. Hogwarts is the only place I can go to use my powers." She didn't raise her voice, which remained monotone and detached. Once her parents made up their minds, nothing could be done to change the matter.

"We're really sorry, sweetheart," Todd answered softly. "We think it's best."

"We'll enroll you in your old school if you want," Annabel added, trying to smile. Were they making the right choice? It was too late to turn back now. "You'll be with your old friends again."

"No…" Lily answered quietly, face blank and void of expression as a feeble knock sounded at the door. "I don't want that," she mumbled, going to answer the door. "Severus!" she gasped at the sight of her boyfriend, moving quickly to support his frail figure.

"I'm ok, Lily," he mumbled weakly, nearly collapsing against her for support. Bruises adorned his face and there was a rapidly bleeding cut on his arm. "It's not that bad,' he insisted, trying in vain to straighten up to walk. His shaking legs only buckled once more.

"Oh, Sev," she whispered sadly. "I'm so sorry. Here, we'll go up to my room and fix you up, ok?"

"No magic," he insisted firmly. "Not allowed…" his voice was hoarse.

"No magic," she agreed, helping him slowly up the stairs. He was moving stiffly, which Lily deduced was from the bruises on his back and torso that she couldn't see.

"Here we go," she murmured gently to him, letting him lay down on the bed. "I'll be right back. Stay conscious."

He groaned in response and she hurried from the room. After a few minutes, Lily returned, carefully carrying a small bowl of water and a few cloths. In silence, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed and dab the wet cloth on his arm. Once she cleaned it and could see where the cut started and ended, she held a dry cloth against the wound to stop the bleeding.

"How can he be so horrible?" she asked quietly, looking down at him.

"He was drunk again," he answered bitterly.

"It's not even noon!" she declared in surprise.

Severus sighed. "That's good old dad for you."

"He's wretched," she scowled. "You should stay here for a while. It's not safe there for you."

"I'll just be in the way until school," he protested. "You have better things to do with the rest of your vacation."

Lily sighed and moved the cloth to check his gash. "I don't know if my vacation is going to end this year, Sev…" she started gingerly cleaning his arm with the wet cloth again before replacing it with the dry one.

"What do you mean?" he inquired softly.

She frowned deeply. "Mum and Dad think it's too dangerous for me to go back to Hogwarts. Some rubbish about wanting me to be happy."

"Why can't you be happy at school?!" he scowled. "I don't want to go back without you!" Who knew what would happen then?

"I know, Sev," she sighed. "I want to go back more than anything. But I'm afraid they've made up their minds. There's really no way to change it."

"Well maybe you can convince them," he pressed. "They want you to be happy, right? Maybe if they know you aren't happy away from school, they'll send you back during the year."

"I hope so," she nodded slowly. She didn't know how she could be happy away from the world she loved so much anyway. "You should get some rest so you can heal, Sev. I'll tell my parents you're staying until school starts."

He looked ready to protest again, but he wanted whatever time with her that he could get. "Thank you, Lily," he smiled gently up at her.

She nodded and leaned over to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he murmured, closing his eyes.

"Night," she whispered quietly and slipped out of the room.

* * *

"James, please. This is hard enough already…"

"What do you mean you're not coming back?! You're already here! Why can't you come?" James demanded, looking slightly panicked.

"I can't just go. My parents are waiting to bring me home," Lily whispered out, looking past him at the gleaming red train. "Write to me, ok? I want to know every stupid thing you do this year."

The black haired boy managed a weak chuckle and nodded slowly, letting her say goodbye to the rest of her friends. Once she had and they'd all left, James tugged her into his hold, wrapping his arms around her thin frame.

"I'm going to miss annoying you," he confessed quietly. "You take care of yourself, ok? If you ever need to work on your magic, you can go see my parents."

"Thank you," she murmured, hugging him back just as tightly. "I'm going to miss yelling at you all the time," she laughed softly, pulling away.

He nodded and held her a moment more, and the whistle blew. "I'll send a letter as soon as I get to school," he promised before hurrying to the train.

She watched before turning and locking her arms around Severus, hugging him as though her life depended on it. "Please don't cross James this year. Stay out trouble."

"I'll do my best," he promised, pulling away to kiss her deeply. "I love you," he mumbled as the train's whistle blew again. "I'll write to you every day," he vowed, stealing one more quick kiss before boarding the train.

Lily lingered on the platform as the conductor checked the doors and boarded. She wrapped her arms around herself and watched sadly until the train disappeared from view around the bend.

**A/n: Ok, so I didn't update the day I told you guys I would, but things got busy again. Sorry, but here it is. Please review! =) Hope you are enjoying it so far!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Ready the Troops

Page | 6

D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story. Sad day indeed.

Chapter Nine: Ready the Troops

"What are we supposed to do now?" Narcissa sighed, glancing across the common room to her sister. "Evans was the only leverage over Potter we had. How are we supposed to convince him to join us now?"

"She wasn't the only person Potter was close to," Bellatrix answered quietly. "There are others we can use."

"None of his friends will give us the same result as the Mudblood," the blonde insisted with a thoughtful frown. "If we put anyone else's life on the line, they may find a way out of it. Evans will be weak without her magic. Once she's defenseless, Potter will know she'll have no way to escape and he'll join us in order to save her."

Bellatrix sighed softly and stared into the snapping fire in front of the dark green leather couch she was draped across.

"Well," she spoke at long last, standing to move to the fire and throw in a handful of Floo powder to return home, "it sounds like we're just going to have to find a way to get her back."

* * *

_Dear Lily,  
_

_Well, I made it in one piece. Potter hasn't tried giving me any trouble yet, which is odd for him. Seems like the whole school has gone quiet without you. The Gryffindors aren't quite so fierce now, and even the Slytherins have stopped pranking and plotting, for today at least. It's only the first night, I know, but the place feels like a funeral home now. Slughorn looked like he could have cried. I expect Dumbledore alerted the staff before the feast. Hogwarts hasn't changed much yet, so you're not missing anything for now. I hope you can convince y our parents to let you return. I miss you so much. I wouldn't have seen you much tonight anyway, but just knowing you aren't here makes it so much worse._

_ I've got to get to bed. Regulus is complaining about the light, the prat. Heh. Only joking. He's not so bad for Sirius Black's brother._

_ Goodnight, Lils. I love you._

_ -Sev._

Lily scanned over the letter for the third time, sitting sadly on her bed. She was still tucked under her blanket. Light was only now beginning to stream into the window on the east wall, and the clock read seven twelve am. Were she at school, she would be getting up and showering, making herself ready for the day.

Realizing that she needed to stay on top of schoolwork no matter what, she did that, starting off as she would a normal school day. Once she got out and dressed, she wrote back to Severus.

_Hey, Sev,_

_ Don't worry. I don't plan on being home very long. I'm sneaking out to Diagon Alley to buy my schoolbooks. Even if I'm not at school, I'll still find a way to practice. Let me know what you get for work in your classes with Gryffindor. I plan to keep up so I'll be able to hand in my work when I return. Try to stay positive. Don't worry. It won't be long. _

_ I love you too._

_ -Lily_

As soon as she sent it off, she pulled on shoes and a heavy jumper, grabbed all the money she had, both Muggle and Wizarding, and snuck out.

"A little late to be buying your schoolbooks, isn't it?" the man at Flourish and Blotts inquired curiously.

"I'm still trying to convince my parents to let me go back," Lily sighed, pulling out her wand to levitate her books. "I plan on being there soon. Thank you for all your help," she smiled and left the store, books floating behind her.

When she returned, she snuck carefully up the stairs and hid her books under her bed. Another two letters had shown up on her pillow. With a sigh, she picked them up and walked downstairs to the kitchen where her parents were already eating lunch. Thankfully, Petunia had left for college as well. The house was at least tolerable now.

"Hi, sweetheart," Todd greeted brightly, smiling as he slid a cup of juice toward Lily.

She scoffed quietly and went to the coffeemaker, pouring herself a mug and adding creamer and sweetener.

"How are you?" he continued, voice much quieter now that he knew the mood his daughter was in. "You have letters," he noted hopefully of the letters she held in her hand, as if they would make Lily happy.

"Yes," she answered shortly. "From the people who actually care about my happiness."

"Lily," Annabel pleaded, "we do care."

The young redhead shook her head simply and opened the first letter as she sipped at the coffee she'd poured. It was from Emmeline, declaring how unfair it was that Lily had been made to stay home and how solemn and horrible Hogwarts was without her. For once glad of Emmeline's dramatics, Lily slid the parchment to her parents and went to the next letter.

_Hey Lily,_

_ James was going to write something, but without you keeping him in line, he's already started scheming. Nothing bad, I promise. I'll make sure he doesn't get anyone killed… or himself, for that matter. He's just upset, I think, about you not being here, so he needs an outlet to help him deal with that. We all miss you loads. Hogwarts is so much darker now. Thought it might be nice for you to know how much of an impact you've made here. We really hope you make it back to school soon._

The letter went on to describe upcoming events like the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff --an easy win for Gryffindor-- and a ball that was already being planned for Christmas. It then concluded-

_Try to be back before too long. We love you and miss you and can't wait to see you again. If you aren't back by Thanksgiving, we'll visit you._

_ Love, Remus_

"I think this is a little over the top," Todd declared softly of Em's letter. "Things can't be that bad without you."

"You don't get it, do you?" Lily snapped at him. "I made an impact on people, dad. I'm growing up. I can make my own decisions regarding my own happiness. I've gotten three letters already and they all say how dark and solemn the school is without me now. Three different people have said the exact same thing. Does that sound over the top to you?"

"That's enough, Lily," Todd scowled. "You obviously have too much time on your hands. Go upstairs," he frowned. "You start normal school tomorrow."

Her eyes widened. "I'm not going to a stupid Muggle school!"

"Yes, you are. Now go to your room," he demanded.

Looking about to cry, Lily snatched her letters and coffee, stomping up the stairs. She slammed the door to her room and locked it. Once she had, she set down her coffee and threw herself down onto her bed, shaking with sobs.

She stayed that was for about ten minutes before pushing herself up and scribbling a letter to Severus.

'_I hate it here,' _she told him. '_My parents are making me go back to a Muggle school. When am I supposed to have time to practice magic? I bought all my books today and everything. I hate this so much. Why won't they just let me go back to Hogwarts? Can't they tell I'm miserable here? I miss you so much. I miss everyone. I miss school. I even miss the Slug Club, I'm so desperate. Write to me soon and visit if you think you could get away on a long weekend._

_ I love you. I miss you terribly. Hope to see you soon._

_ Love Lily'_

After the first three letters, nothing came for weeks. Lily was forced to enroll in a Muggle high school in her junior year. For the first time, she was swamped with homework she didn't understand, and struggled to catch up with the other students who had started school weeks earlier. She barely had enough time to study, eat, and sleep, so worries about her friends rarely crossed her mind. She just didn't have the time.

Her magic was building up uneasily within her, and she became jittery and restless without an outlet to release the pressure overwhelming her. She was just about at her wit's end.

"Lily, quit pacing and do your homework," Todd sighed, folding over the newspaper he was trying to read from his seat on the couch.

The lights began to flicker and Lily stopped in her place, groaning as she pressed a hand to her temple. "Stop it," she pleaded to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. "Stop."

"You're not going to get in trouble for this with that Ministry, are you?" Todd couldn't help but stare at the lamp beside him in fascination.

"I don't know," she whispered in distress. "I can't stop it," she gasped out quietly as the lights grew unbearably bright, and then burst.

Todd covered his head quickly with the paper he'd been reading, eyes widening in surprise and wonder.

Ignoring the glass littering the floor, Lily collapsed, head in hands. AS she started trembling, the bright blue sky outside darkened and a sudden onslaught of rain pelted at the windows.

Todd dropped his paper and kneeled quickly beside her. "Don't cry, sweetheart," he pleaded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly against him. "What happened?" he whispered.

"I can't…" she choked out, throwing her arms around his neck. "I can't control it anymore," she whimpered. "My magic…I need to use it again. I-it's getting dangerous."

"It'll be ok," Todd assured gently, holding his daughter and rubbing her back. "It's not that bad. We can clean it up, don't worry."

"No, I can't do this anymore!" she sobbed. "I can't! I hate school so much! I don't know anybody and I can't understand the work, and now I'm blowing out lights and making it rain! What's wrong with me?!"

"There's nothing wrong with you, sweetheart," he soothed, guilt creeping into his conscience. "It'll be ok."

Lily whimpered and hid her face in his shoulder, clutching to his shirt for support. He didn't get it. It wouldn't be ok. She couldn't keep bottling her magic up like this, or something much worse could happen.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before an owl flew into the room, landing on the floor. When neither of the redheads responded to it, the tawny creature pecked sharply at Lily's arm.

"Ouch! Stupid bird--oh!" Lily started to whine, quieting as soon as she saw it was an owl. She rubbed her arm and took the letter, tipping with the spare Sickle she had in her pocket. Hopefully this would help things, because she wasn't feeling very good at the moment. As the bird flew off and she opened the letter, however, she paled.

_Lily,_

_Tons of attacks on Muggle towns. We think yours is next. Be ready._

_A/n: Hope you guys enjoyed that one. Not much to enjoy in it, I suppose, but don't worry. Things will look up eventually. I promise. Hang in there, and while you're at it, why not review? Thanks!_


	11. Chapter Ten: Letters From Home

Page | 10

**D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in this story except for the plot.**

Chapter Ten: Letters From Home

"Stay focused, Lily," Mrs. Potter warned gently. "The spell will only last as long as you focus on it. Hold onto that memory."

Lily had managed to convince her parent to visit the Potters, fearing for their safety should they stay at home. Under the guise of looking through Mr. Potter's study for books to keep Lily occupied, Mrs. Potter had taken Lily to the study to look at the letter she'd received and practice defensive spells away from her Muggle family.

Currently, the girl's green eyes were locked on a wispy silver doe in the middle of the room. She was biting her lip hard in concentration, trying to keep the Patronus in place. She was trembling slightly from the effort as she closed her eyes slowly to focus on her memory.

_"Hey Lily, can I talk to you?"_

_ She looked over at Severus and nodded. She was still relatively unstable mentally from Potter's forced attack, but she always felt better seeing her best friend, nervous though he looked now. She set her trunk down beside the others and stepped forward to wait for a carriage._

_ "Sure," Sev. You ok?" she inquired softly, not sparing the strength to smile._

_ "Yeah," he assured with the smile she wouldn't give. "I'm fine," he nodded. "Just wanted to talk."_

_ She nodded slightly in return and glanced ahead to see if there were any carriages. "Anything in particular you wanted to say, or did you mean for me to start a conversation?" she inquired dully._

_ "No, I actually wanted to know…uhm…well…" he had a bit of trouble getting the words out. "Well, you know… we've been friends for a while and so I was wondering if maybe you'd want to-" he took a deep breath and expelled, "be my girlfriend?" He winced at the words. _

_ Lily took a few moments to process what he said before nodding slowly. "I'd like that," she murmured._

_ "Really?" His eyes brightened and when she nodded, he grinned, pulling her to him and kissing her._

_ That was when feelings took over and Lily's heart jumped as she responded happily, elated._

Her Patronus grew brighter and more solid for a few moments before--

_"Crucio."_

Lily's eyes flew open in horror, and she gasped quietly. The doe disappeared as she slumped down into Mr. Potter's leather quilted armchair, breathing heavily.

Mrs. Potter quickly kneeled beside the chair, holding out a piece of Honeydukes chocolate. "Here," she prompted gently. "Eat this. It'll help."

Lily took it, grimacing slightly. "That spell takes a lot out of you," he murmured as she bit off a corner, chewing it slowly.

"It will get easier with practice," the woman promised, hazel eyes piercing thoughtfully into the younger girl.

"I've done this spell loads of times," Lily nodded slowly. "I can do it just fine, usually."

"You were doing wonderfully," Mrs. Potter agreed softly. "What happened?"

Lily finished the chocolate and frowned. "Some bad memories are stronger than the good," she answered quietly, tracing a barely there scar on her upper arm.

Mrs. Potter followed her gaze. "If there was any way for James to take it back, he would."

"I know," Lily answered, voice set just above a whisper. "I don't blame him for it. I just wish the memories weren't still there."

Mrs. Potter nodded in understanding and the two sat in silence for a few minutes. Only the murmurings of the adults talking downstairs penetrated the silence.

After a moment or two more, Lily stood up, hand tightening around her wand. "Let's try again."

* * *

It was a dark day at Hogwarts. Of course, every day had been dark for Severus without his girlfriend. He felt bad that he hadn't had time to write to her for the past few weeks, but things had been busy. Currently, he was teaching a few of his housemates a harmless spell or two he'd modified.

"You know, we should start going on raids," Narcissa mused with a sly smile at Severus. "It would be good practice for the Death Eaters after school."

Their mentor paused for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Not for now, at least. If the Ministry found out-"

"What is the Ministry going to do about it?"

"We're not of age yet! If we were caught using underage magic, we'd be in trouble enough. What do you think would happen when they found out we were rioting against Muggles?" Not to mention, Lily would kill him.

Narcissa frowned. She obviously hadn't thought this through in her haste to launch a raid on Spinner's End.

"We'll have plenty of time to practice next year," Severus concluded sternly. "For now let's just keep going," he insisted and went on teaching another spell.

Narcissa sighed quietly. She'd just have to be a little more creative if they wanted Evans back by Christmas.

"Why don't we set something on that Muggle school she's going to?" Regulus suggested quietly as the two walked out together after the lesson.

Narcissa turned slightly to look at him and nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

"I know a guy in the area," he shrugged. "He owes me a favor. I think we could have him transfer into her school for the time being and do something to get her parents to decide she would be safer here than with the Muggles."

She thought it over in silence for a long while as they walked back to their common room before nodding slowly. "See what you can do."

* * *

"Snape," Remus greeted quietly in the library as he sat down across the table from the Slytherin boy. In his hand, he held a few letters, which seemed to be the source of the worried expression on his tired face.

Severus's hand tightened immediately on the wand he'd laid on the table. "Lupin," he greeted quietly, on the defensive but not acting on his instinct until given reason to.

"Have you gotten a letter from Lily lately?" Remus asked in a whisper, looking around to make sure there was nobody doing homework that they might disturb in talking. Ensuring that there wasn't, he returned his gaze to the pale, thin boy in front of him.

"Not for about a month," Severus frowned, looking up from his book to Remus. "Do you think she's ok?"

"She's fine," Remus assured quickly, sliding the letters across the table. "It doesn't sound like she's getting our letters, though. Seems a bit frantic whenever she writes me now." He watched carefully while Severus scanned over the letters.

_Remus,_

_ I don't know how long it's been since I talked to you. I stopped getting letters after the third week, but you're probably really busy with school and keeping James and Sirius out of trouble. How are they doing? Is Quidditch going well for us? How about house points? I suppose we're doing well as long as those two are staying out of trouble. Well, I have to go do my homework. Have I mentioned how much I loathe Muggle school? I miss you guys._

_Love, Lily_

_Remus,_

_ I figured you're probably still pretty busy with NEWT classes and all, but I miss you. Write me back. I need some kind of relief._

_Love, Lily_

_Remus._

_ I thought you of all people would take the time to write something back to me. I'm stuck here completely cut off from everything I love and you can't take two minutes to let me know you're still alive? I don't think that's too much to ask, do you? __Please__ write back. I'm having a horrible day._

_Lily_

_Remus, you're not dead, are you? Write back. I'm going mental. Love Lily._

Severus frowned, setting the letters down on top of his book. "That doesn't sound good."

"It's not," Remus answered quietly. "And now she's got me worried because that last letter was sent two weeks ago. I'm starting to wonder if she's gone mental."

"She must be getting close," Severus sighed. "Maybe you lot can visit over Thanksgiving break? It would probably help her to see you."

"Yeah, we will," Remus assured, frowning thoughtfully. "Aren't you going back, too?"

"Maybe over Christmas," Severus muttered. "But Lily's the only thing I've got to go back to, and that won't make home worth staying at." He paused to rifle through his bag, pulling out a slightly crumpled letter. "Give this to her for me, will you?"

Remus took it and nodded, folding the parchment neatly and tucking it into his pocket. "Yeah, I will," he vowed. "I'll let you know when I talk to her," he added, standing there for a moment before walking away.

* * *

"Where are we?"

"You don't know London very well, do you Prongs?" Remus grinned, zipping up his jacket quickly. It was getting cold quickly at the end of November. "Lily's house is right there," he pointed two houses down from the end of the street where they stood.

A relaxed grin spread onto James's face as he strode off quickly. It'd been much too long since he'd seen Lily. He stepped up onto the porch and knocked, waiting with an eager smile.

"Hold on!" her slightly muffled voice called, sounding rushed and out of breath.

He frowned a bit but shrugged it off, waiting with Remus and Sirius.

Minutes passed with different spells being cast from inside every now and then. Odd, considering it was a Muggle home. James looked at the other two uncertainly before drawing his wand. Just as he was about to open the door, it swung inward to reveal an out of breath redhead.

"Hi guy's," Lily greeted, wiping her forehead with a towel draped around her neck. "Sorry, come in," she moved out of the doorway so they could come in. The cool November air felt amazing against her overheated skin. She had on a pair of shorts and a short sleeve shirt, and sneakers that she kicked off once the three were past. "James, your parents are in the kitchen making dinner if you want to go see them."

James looked surprised. "Where are your parents?" he glanced to the kitchen briefly.

"They went to a movie, so I asked your parents to come help me learn some new spells. Sorry it took so long to get to the door. I was dueling your dad."

Remus watched her carefully as they stepped out of the entryway into the living room. She sounded perfectly calm but looked nervous as anything as she went back to the couch, pulling a large book onto her lap and jotting things on flashcards.

"Are you ok, Lily? Aren't you on break?" he inquired.

"Not until tomorrow. I have a test I haven't studied for yet," she frowned. She couldn't get through all this work in time. She started getting easily flustered again, writing information down as quickly and neatly as she could, turning through the pages slowly.

"What subject is it on?" Remus inquired eagerly, seeing how irritated she was becoming. "Maybe we can help."

"No, it's just Muggle history," she shook her head, not looking up at them. She'd meant to get more done that morning than she'd been able to, so now she was stuck with it at seven thirty at night, and she couldn't see it ending anytime soon.

He nodded and watched her in concern for a few moments. He didn't want to disturb her, but her letters had sounded so frantic. It didn't match the way she was acting now. "Have you been getting any letters, Lily? I've been trying to write you every few days."

Now she looked up. "You have been?" she frowned. "I haven't gotten anything but James's warning in months."

"That's strange," he mused quietly, eyes moving to Sirius when the boy started toward the kitchen, disappearing through the doorway. "I wonder why that got through and nothing else has."

"I don't know," she sighed quietly. She was silently really disappointed. It was great to see them, but she'd really expected Severus to visit, too. "I don't suppose you know if Severus planned to come see me?"

"He stayed at school," Remus answered softly, not wanting the news to upset her. "He really wanted to see you, though. Here," he pulled out Severus's letter from his pocket and handed it to her. "He wanted me to give this to you since our letters don't seem to be getting through."

"Oh," she took it from him and unfolded it to read. "Thank you," she murmured, voice fading as she read it over.

_Dear Lily,_

_I'm really really really sorry I didn't make it to see you. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't justify seeing you with staying at home. I really do love you, though. Please don't think any less of that because I stayed. I've tried to tell you in my other letters, but you don't seem to be getting those, so I'll say it here. I miss you so much. I hate being away from you like this, for so long. It's miserable. I really hope you can come back soon so we can have a real date. I can't wait to hold you again. I miss everything about you._

As the letter continued for another half page, a blush rose to Lily's cheeks. The reddening worsened, accompanied by a shy smile as her eyes traveled along the page. When she reached the closing, she giggled softly, folded it up, and set it on the table beside the couch. "Thank you, Remus," she muttered, not looking up at them. Instead, she continued with her work slowly, obviously distracted now.

James glanced over at Remus and rolled his eyes before heading into the kitchen.

Remus smiled. "No problem, Lily." He stood and draped a blanket over her shoulders and magically started a fire in the hearth in front of her. "Don't overwork yourself. I'm going to check on dinner, ok? I'll be back in a few minutes to see how you're doing."

Lily nodded and let him leave, lying down on the couch.

When Remus came back, Lily's book had fallen on the floor and her flash cards were strewn around. He grinned and fixed the blanket to keep her warm.

"You meant to do that, cheater," she mumbled, half asleep.

"Yes, I did," he chuckled softly. "Get some sleep, Lily."

"I can't," she insisted feebly. "I have s'much work to do."

"You can't keep depriving yourself of sleep because of it," he answered with a smile, sitting on the edge of the couch and raking his hand gently through her hair. "Just rest until dinner and I'll wake you up so you can eat and study," he told her in a brotherly way.

She gave a quiet whine, but closed her eyes and relaxed. "Fine," she grumbled in a last attempt to show her annoyance before she gave in and fell asleep.

Remus grinned and kissed her forehead before standing up. "Goodnight, Lily."

_**A/n: Sorry I took so long updating, guys. I just got back in the swing of things after a very long vacation, but here it is. Please review and let me know what you think. How do I know what you guys want out of a story if you don't tell me, right? Hope you enjoyed!**_


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Breaking Point

Page | 8

**D/c: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story. Only the names of the parents are to my credit, as well as the plot. Enjoy!**

Chapter Eleven: The Breaking Point 

School was frustrating. Lily got out of class and walked rapidly to her locker, wrenching it open. She cleaned it out for break and slammed the door shut, gasping in surprise as she turned and came face to face with the Marauders.

"Are you mental?!" she hissed quietly, placing a sprawled hand over her heart. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?"

James grinned widely. "Sorry. We just wanted to pick you up so you didn't have to walk home alone."

"I never walk," she told him quietly, leaning back against her locker for a moment to look at them. "I ride the bus."

"What's a bus?" he frowned in confusion.

"It's like a big carriage," she explained as she started to walk to the exit.

"Hey, Lily!" a voice called from behind the Marauders, causing the redhead to cringe.

Lily turned with a small groan and looked back, sighing. "Hi, Lewis."

A boy looking to be their age, with a slightly muscular build, blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and young childlike facial features moved around the three boys and propped himself up against the row of lockers. He glanced Lily over only briefly, but the gesture was clear to all present, and flashed a charming smile that any other girl would have swooned at.

"What are you doing over break?" he inquired, unfazed by her obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Homework," she answered without missing a beat, uncomfortably hugging a book to her chest to block his view.

"You can't be doing work all week," he protested with a smooth, suave tone of voice. "How about going out with me Friday?"

"I have a boyfriend," she informed him, words slower, louder, and slightly more emphasized. It obviously wasn't the first time she'd told him. "Back off, Lewis."

"Where is he then?" The smile fell. "Why haven't I met him?"

"He goes to another school, and my personal life is none of your business!"

"Well that just means if we do anything, he won't know." Another smirk appeared.

Lily scowled and drew her hand back to slap him, but to her surprise, he caught her by the wrist and turned, shoving her against the lockers.

"Hey, watch it," Remus stepped forward and gave a low growl, looking uncharacteristically angry.

Lewis glanced at him a moment before deeming he wasn't much of a threat and locking his gaze with Lily's. "Come on, Lily," he murmured softly, moving one hand to stroke the side of her neck. "Let's go hang out at my place," he whispered, eyes slowly darkening to a garnet shade.

Lily's wide green eyes changed slowly from terror, glazing over as she stared back at him with an empty expression, unable to respond in any other manner but nodding.

"No," Remus cut in angrily, grabbing Lewis' shoulder and wrenching him away from Lily to throw him into the lockers across the hall. "James, get her out of here. Sirius, go with them," he warned quickly before Lewis came back at him, throwing him to the ground.

James took hold of Lily and helped her out of the building. Sirius, rather than listening, turned to his dog Animagus, snarling as he bit onto Lewis' arm to distract him from Remus.

"Padfoot!" Remus scowled, getting up and punching Lewis in the nose before tugging on the scruff of Sirius' neck. "Run," he demanded quietly, releasing Sirius and running with him out the door.

The two caught up with Lily and James a block away from Lily's house. Without pausing, Remus picked up Lily bridal style in his unnaturally strong hold as Sirius barked, urging James to match their pace.

Once in the safety of Lily's home, the three boys collapsed and tried to catch their breath. Remus still held protectively to Lily, who was dazed and still quite motionless.

"What was all that about?" James asked breathlessly after a moment.

Remus frowned deeply. "What do you think would have made me go mental like that?"

"You don't really think there are any in Muggle schools, do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Look at what it did to Lily. Do you know any Muggles who can do that?"

"Guess not…"

Lily looked up at him in confusion. "What happened?" she asked softly, voice faint as her eyes moved over to Sirius, still in his dog form, then back to Remus when Sirius trotted to the back to turn human again. Slowly, the fog blocking her mind was clearing and allowing for the return of rational thought.

"Kids, is that you?" Annabel called out from the kitchen, appearing in the doorway. Her smile fell immediately as she caught sight of them. "What's wrong?" she asked as she moved to kneel beside Remus and placed her hand on Lily's forehead. "Lily? Are you ok, love?"

Remus frowned, glancing up as Lily's father and James' parents crowded into the doorway. "Lily managed to find herself a vampire at school."

"She always was one for trouble," James smirked slightly as Sirius returned to the living room, free of his Animagus form.

"I am not!" Lily scowled, hitting him weakly in the chest. "None of this started happening until Malfoy decided to try and get your family on their side." She was still shaken up, but much more coherent now.

"Yeah," James sighed quietly, looking away. Even though the two events weren't related, he still felt guilty. "I'm really sorry, Lily…"

She looked over at his change in tone of voice. "I didn't mean it like that. It wasn't your fault," she assured softly as she moved off of Remus' lap to sit between the two and gingerly placed a hand on James' arm.

"Yes it was," he muttered quietly, not looking back to the group. "I should have been stronger. I shouldn't have let him take over like that."

"Malfoy is five years older than you and he's been raised in the Dark Arts," she answered back. "Nobody in that situation could have effectively fought it off. Look at me," she pleaded gently, moving to pull his chin toward her. Once he turned his reluctant gaze to meet hers, she sternly told him, "You are one of the strongest guys I know. You're a conceited prat sometimes, and your constant flirting drives me mental, but I've always seen you as a highly talented, confident, strong man. Why do you think I could never stand you? I've always envied you, James. You're a much better person than me."

He listened in silence before laughing quietly. "I'm not better than you. You're more than I could ever be."

"Remus," Mrs. Potter whispered, helping him up. "Let's give them some time."

The adults and Remus left, but it wasn't noticed by the two sitting together staring at each other.

"That's not true," Lily whispered. "Look, we both have our strengths, but we've got weaknesses too. That doesn't make you any less of a person than me, or vice versa, and whether you think I should or not, I look up to you. Nothing Malfoy tries to pull is ever going to change that." She paused before chuckling softly. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but you're one of my best friends."

James looked at her with a mildly surprised expression before smiling. "Thank you, Lily."

She grinned and nodded, hugging him gently. "Anytime, James." She stayed there in his embrace for a moment before pulling back. "Let's go talk to Remus. I want to find out more about Lewis."

James looked a little saddened that the moment had passed, but nodded and stood. He offered his hand down to help her up, smiling softly.

She took it and pulled to right herself, losing her balance when he tugged her up. She stumbled and fell against his chest, laughing softly. "Sorry, she grinned up at him as she caught her balance.

He gave a lopsided grin in return, supporting her easily. "It's fine," he assured gently, letting her go when she straightened up. He lingered for a moment as she turned and walked into the kitchen, smile remaining but falling slightly with his thought.

Best friends. Yeah, he could deal with that.

He chuckled softly and grinned before moving to join the others in the kitchen.

"I don't think it would be safe for you to go back now," Annabel was telling Lily as she stood beside the chair her younger daughter was seated in.

"At least if something like this happened at Hogwarts, I'd be able to use my magic to defend myself," Lily agreed quietly, keeping her emotions in check. This didn't mean she was going back. It just meant she was being pulled from public school.

The front door opened out in the hallway, and the kitchen fell silent just in time to hear, "Mum? Dad?"

Lily groaned loudly and slumped down in her chair, dropping her head onto her folded arms on the table.

"Oh Lily, stop that," Annabel sighed, moving out to greet Petunia.

"You two used to get on so well," Todd frowned. "What happened to that?"

"She decided to be a jealous prat instead of being happy when I was accepted into Hogwarts," Lily muttered. "That wasn't my fault. She's always hated me for it."

"Petunia doesn't hate you," Todd rolled his eyes. "You're being dramatic.

"Oh, yes dad. _I'm _the dramatic one," Lily shook her head as Petunia entered, face falling at the sight of all the wizards and witches.

"What happened?" she laughed dryly as Lily looked over at her. "Finally ditch that greasy git of a boyfriend for a better looking one?" she nodded to James.

James normally couldn't stand Petunia because of how much she bothered Lily, but he was admittedly a bit flattered at the acknowledgement.

"First of all, Severus is not a greasy git. Second of all, gross. James is like my brother, not my boyfriend," Lily scowled. "Which would be a nice trade-off considering what I'm stuck with now."

"Lily," Todd chided, placing a heavy hand on Lily's shoulder, causing her to wince. "Be nice to your sister. Petunia, don't provoke her."

Lily's eyes narrowed. Why did they always make her sound like the one at fault?

"Why don't we get back to the matter at hand?" Mr. Potter cut in, seeing how worked up Lily was getting.

Todd nodded and moved to sit back down. "I think it's going to come down to what you want to do, Lily." It was for her happiness they'd kept her home in the first place, and obviously, that wasn't working anymore.

"I would like to go back to Hogwarts, please," Lily answered softly, not looking up at her parents, just in case.

"Even though it's dangerous?" Todd pressed, looking over at James. He still wasn't fond of the boy, or of Severus, really. He disliked any boy who laid a hand on his daughter. Remus Lupin, though; now _there_ was a fine example of a boy Lily _should_ find interest in. Todd approved of him.

"The only reason that happened was because of a git who's been graduated for five years, Dad," Lily scowled as James looked away with a guilty and remorseful frown. "That had absolutely nothing to do with James. It could have happened to me anywhere," she informed, placing a comforting hand on James' arm. "Don't you think it would be better for me to be attacked in an environment where I can use my magic to defend myself than it would be for me to be attacked here with no hope of fighting back?"

Todd fell silent for a few moments, thinking it over. He glanced to Annabel, who gave him a gentle smile and nodded. "I don't know where you learned to be so persuasive," he finally sighed to Lily, "but if it would make you happy, you can go back to Hogwarts."

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?!" she grinned widely and pushed herself out of her chair, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Dad!" she laughed in relief. "Thanks, mum!"

"You're welcome," Todd chuckled, hugging her back. "Let's just get through this week first, hmm?"

She nodded eagerly as she pulled away and looked excitedly to the Marauders. Finally, things would be ok again.

_**A/n: So how do you guys like it so far? Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I am rapidly approaching spring break, so school has been crazy. So believe it or not, we are nearing the end of the epic tale of Severus and Lily, but we've still got several chapters to go. Help me out by reviewing! Thanks guys!**_


	13. Chapter Twelve: The Warning

Page | 7

**D/c: Do I own Harry Potter? Nope. Do I own anything you recognize? Nope. Do I own everything you don't? Yes. Please don't steal.**

Chapter Twelve: The Warning

"Hurry up, Lily, we're going to miss the train!" Remus shouted up the stairs.

"Sorry!" she called back, voice muffled by the maze of hallways upstairs in the Potter's home, where the group had spent the night

Heavy and quick footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Lily appeared, hands to the back of her head as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Sorry," she breathed out again, "somebody shut off my alarm." She glared at Sirius, lowering her hands to pick up her trunk.

"It wasn't me," he insisted quickly, stealing a suspicious glance at James.

"Sorry, Lily," James smiled sheepishly, taking her trunk for her. "You were up so late last night catching up on your homework," he explained. "I thought you could use the extra sleep."

She smiled a bit and nodded. "I did need it," she agreed. "Thanks," she added softly, moving over to Mrs. Potter for Side-Along Apparation.

"Ready?" the woman smiled. "On three. One, two three."

When they landed, Lily started coughing, leaning against a wall for support. Apparating felt miserable.

"You ok?" James asked quickly, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder once he and his dad had landed. "That wasn't the first time you've Apparated, was it?"

"Yeah," she winced, spitting onto the pavement before wiping her mouth. "Do you have any water?" she asked, glancing slowly around platform ten.

"Here, take mine," Remus offered, holding out his water bottle for her. He knew how she felt, as he was still getting used to having his Apparating license.

"Thanks," she muttered, taking a few gulps before handing it back to him. "Ok, sorry, we can go now."

"No problem," James assured with a small smile, stepping aside and raising a hand toward the barrier. "Ladies first."

Lily grinned in sudden excitement, glancing around quickly to make sure the Muggles weren't watching. She sprinted eagerly to and through the barrier, only stopping when she was out of the way of the entrance to Platform 9 ¾. She sighed out happily, looking around to take in the beautiful sight of the train, standing proudly on its tracks.

"Lily?!"

She looked over in surprise before shrieking happily and throwing her arms around Emmeline. "Hi!" she greeted enthusiastically.

"Are you coming back?!" Emmeline demanded, pulling away to stare hopefully at her friend.

"Yeah!" Lily grinned widely, resulting in the two shrieking and hugging each other again.

"What happened? I thought your parents wanted you home," Emmeline told her with a curious expression.

"I'll tell you on the train," Lily answered before glancing back to the Marauders and hugging James's parents. "Thank you so much for keeping me from going mental," she smiled up at them.

"Of course," Mrs. Potter returned the smile. "You are always welcome into our home."

"Try to keep our boy in line, would you?" Mr. Potter added, looking over at James. "You've always had quite the influence on him."

Lily nodded a bit. "I'll see what I can do," she promised as the train whistle blew.

"Oh, don't miss the train dear! Go on," Mrs. Potter urged quickly.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Thank you again," Lily waved before running over to the train and up the stairs into the hall.

She strolled down the corridor of the train cars until she reached the last one, grinning widely at her friends as she entered. Contented beyond belief to be back on the train once again, she took her seat between James and Emmeline.

"So why did your parents let you come back?" Em questioned at once.

Lily sighed softly and sat back with a frown. "Well, there was this guy at school -- my parents made me go back to Muggle school-- and there was this guy named Lewis who was always trying to flirt with me. It was so annoying. I told him I had a boyfriend, but that excuse was never good enough for him. But this lot thankfully came to walk me home one day, because Lewis, the guy, tried flirting again, but it was different…" she paused and looked across the compartment to Remus. "I'm still not really sure what happened after that…"

"He turned out to be a vampire," Remus explained, spitting the word out like it was poison. "Lily tried to hit him to get her point across, so he shoved her against the lockers and tried to brainwash her into leaving with him. Probably would have snapped her neck the second he was out of the public eye."

Lily, who had leaned forward curiously to listen to the things she couldn't remember, sat back again with a quiet huff. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Remus," she muttered bitterly.

"Sorry," Remus sighed. "Thinking about what he could have done still makes me angry sometimes."

Lily nodded slightly. "I'm glad you three were there that day…"

"So your parents just let you come back after that?" Em frowned. "I mean, it's great that you're back, don't get me wrong. And you'll get to come to the ball now!" she gasped, suddenly losing her train of thought. "We have to find you a dress!"

"And a better date," James muttered quietly.

"James, honestly," she frowned at him in disapproval before Emmeline started babbling about the dance again. She listened for a while before settling in to sleep.

"James, wake her up," Remus spoke after night had fallen and nodded to Lily, whose head was resting on James's shoulder. "She'll want to change before we arrive."

James glanced down and sighed softly, giving a nod in response. "Lily," he whispered, moving his shoulder. "Hey…we're almost to school. You should go change," he smiled as she picked her head up, rubbing her eyes.

"We're there?" she mumbled, looking out the window as she reached up to fix her ponytail.

"Nearly," James nodded. "Are you going to change?"

She looked sluggishly to her bag and nodded, pulling it off the rack overhead. She left to change into her new uniform and returned, sitting just as the train pulled to a stop. Her eyes lit up as she stood again. "Come on guys! Hurry up!" she urged impatiently, tugging on Remus' hand.

He laughed and took his bag with his free hand before following her onto the platform. "We have to wait for the others," he stopped her, waiting with her until the other three climbed down and headed for the carriages.

Lily could barely sit still once they were in, and the moment they had arrived, she pushed the door open and got out. Only then did she pause to look at the castle in awe. Wow. She grinned widely and walked with the others into the Great Hall.

Severus was watching the door with a sigh when Lily walked in. Eyes widening, he got up and went to greet her before she sat down. "Lily!" he called out as he neared her. She was actually back!

She looked around, eyes locking on his and flashing with recognition. "Sev!" she responded excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too," he grinned, hugging her back happily. "How did you convince your parents to let you come back?" he inquired, stroking her hair. He had missed her so very much.

"A vampire was attending the Muggle school they made me go to. He tried making me a meal, I guess. I don't really remember. Remus recognized what he was first and stopped him."

Severus's eyes had darkened at her explanation, but the moment she mentioned Remus, they lit up malevolently. "Lupin did?" he inquired eagerly.

"Sev," Lily chided softly, looking disappointed. "I could have died and the only thing you're worried about is whether or not Remus is a werewolf."

"Well, is he?"

"Sev!" Lily protested, hitting his arm. "Honestly?"

He frowned and hugged her again, not wanting her to be upset with him when they'd just reunited. "I'm sorry, Lily. Were you hurt?"

"No," she sighed quietly as she dropped the subject, though she wanted to yell at him a bit more for his lack of concern, and hugged him back slowly. "I'm fine. I don't remember much of it, so you're lucky that Remus was there. Otherwise, I'd be dead, and then you'd feel terrible about jumping to conclusions. You should be grateful instead of always being skeptical."

"I'm sorry," he insisted again, pulling back to look at her. "Forgive me?" he pleaded.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him carefully. "Fine," she finally sighed heavily.

"Thank you," he grinned, kissing her softly. "Go get something to eat, already. You look thin."

"I am thin," she pointed out with a smile, kissing him back quickly. "I'll talk to you in the morning," she promised, hugging him once more before going to sit at the Gryffindor table.

"Glad to be back?" Remus asked casually once she'd settled in and greeted the rest of her friends. He thought James would be waiting to say something negative about Severus once Lily returned, but he was deeply involved in a conversation about Quidditch to another Chaser on the house team named Chelsea.

"Yeah," she grinned, looking around the hall. "It's good to be home," she answered, setting her gaze on Dumbledore.

The Headmaster was watching her with those curious brilliant blue eyes, peering at her as if trying to see something deeper. After a few moments, his disarming gaze moved to watch Severus in the same manner.

Lily studied the Headmaster for a few moments, smile fading, before James nudged her.

"Everything ok?" he inquired after a hasty struggle to swallow his food.

"Yeah," she murmured quietly, shaking herself out of her thoughts the best she could. That seemed very strange to her. "Yeah... Everything's perfect."

A/n: Thank you for all who are still following this story. As of right now, I'm only getting a few reviews each chapter, so if you are still out there, just leave that positive reinforcement called a review. It's really encouraging and I love it. Keep following and thanks again!


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Into the Fray

Page | 7

_D/c: I do not own anything you recognize. I do own everything you don't. Please don't steal any of the plot ideas and enjoy! =)_

Chapter Thirteen: Into the Fray

"You're not very excited about this, are you?" Emmeline called into the dressing room as Lily pulled off the dress she'd tried on and hung it over the top of the door.

"I am excited," the redhead protested, reaching for the next dress. "I just can't stop thinking about how Dumbledore looked at me. It was like a warning."

"What kind of warning?" Emmeline frowned, going to return the discarded dress and sort through another rack.

"I don't know, but it looked like he wanted to warn Severus, too," she paused, looking at the dress she had on in the mirror. "I like the cut of this one, but the color won't do."

"Got it," Em nodded, bringing a few more dresses for her friend while her own waited on the back of a nearby chair to be purchased. "Why would he only warn the two of you? How do you know he was even trying to warn you? He probably would have had you go to his office to talk to him if it was serious, right?"

"I guess so," Lily sighed thoughtfully. "This one's nice… It's just a little too different for me."

"Here, these are a little more traditional for a masked ball," Em assured, handing Lily what she held. "I wouldn't worry about it until Dumbledore pursues it. If it's not enough for him to talk to you about, it's nothing to worry over."

"Yeah, I guess," Lily sighed. "It was just unsettling, the way he looked at me. It was like he knew something he needed me to know, or that I already should. I don't know… It was odd, I suppose."

"He's so strange sometimes," Em muttered, finally sitting down to rest while Lily tried on the remaining dresses.

"Yeah, he is," Lily agreed quietly, pulling on another dress. She gasped once she had it zipped up. "Em, this is it!"

"Let me see!" her friend insisted, sitting up in her chair eagerly.

"Don't tell anyone what it looks like," Lily responded threateningly before stepping out in a floor length, strapless, emerald green gown. The top was a form fitting corset-styled piece that was elegantly but simply beaded, and the connecting skirt's bottom layer was made from comfortable silk, while the upper layers were made from deep green tulle that made the dress stand out from any other. Black trim and embroidery pulled the ensemble together perfectly.

"Do you like it?" Lily asked nervously after a few moments of silence.

"You look incredible!" Em grinned widely. "Have you _seen_ how you look? It's gorgeous!"

"I still need a mask," Lily muttered with a bashful smile.

"Oh, that part is easy," Em assured. "I'll go see what you have while you change again."

Lily nodded and went to the dressing room for what was thankfully the last time, changing back into her jeans, sweater, and cloak before joining Em. "That one," she pointed out immediately once she got to the counter. "It's perfect," she murmured of a black mask adorned with emerald stitching and beads.

"This it is, then," Em nodded, handing the other masks back to the clerk, who placed them back in the display case. "So what are you doing for the rest of the day?" she asked, standing aside so Lily could pay.

"I guess I'll go meet Sev for lunch," the redhead answered grudgingly. "He's with a few of his friends, so I'm not sure how this is going to work, but he begged me, so I have to go."

"His friends?" Em repeated incredulously. "The Slytherin snobs, you mean? The ones that hate you?"

"Thanks for the reminder," Lily muttered. "It's just one get together. What could happen?" she inquired as she paid and had her purchases sent to Hogwarts before they walked out of the store.

"Just be careful. You know how cruel they can be. I guess I don't have to remind you."

"No, you don't," Lily mumbled thoughtfully, glancing down at her arms, where scars lay hidden beneath layers of winter clothing. "I'll let you know how it went later."

"Good luck," Em nodded before the two parted ways, and Lily headed into the Three Broomsticks.

"Be nice," Severus warned the group he sat with as he saw Lily enter. "She's a brilliant witch no matter how pure her blood is. No names," he added sternly before standing to hug Lily. "Hey, Lils," he greeted brightly.

"Hey," she repeated softly, glancing warily around the table as she hugged him back.

Severus pulled away to offer her a seat beside him and followed her gaze around the rectangular table. "Do you know everyone?" he asked once he'd taken his seat as well.

"Vaguely," Lily murmured. She'd gotten plenty of them in trouble with Slughorn before.

"Alright, good," Sev smiled, looking around the room. "Did you find a dress?" he inquired after a few moments of deafening silence.

"Yeah, I did," she smiled slightly. "Lucky thing, too, so close to the ball."

"What does it look like?' Narcissa piped in with unexpected interest.

Lily looked taken aback, glancing quickly at Severus. "Well I don't really want to hint with Sev right here…" She didn't want to sound like a prat either, when Sev was trying so hard to help them get along… "But I'll show you later, if you'd like."

"I'd love to see it," Narcissa replied without hesitation, smiling as she looked to Bella for a brief moment, then to a girl across the table named Allison. "Maybe we could all get ready for the ball together? It would be fun."

Lily was greatly confused by the offer, but she nodded at last and stammered out, "Y-yeah. That would be great."

Severus grinned as he relaxed back in his chair and started speaking to the boy beside him, Evan Rosier. What had he been worried about? Lily was fitting in just fine.

* * *

"Do you think she's ok?"

James had begun pacing in front of the fire in the common room an hour previous to uttering the paranoid question. Remus and Sirius sat on the couch, and Peter had found a place in the chair James was currently pacing away from. Sirius and Peter were engaged in a fierce game of Exploding Snap.

"It's not curfew yet," Remus pointed out, glancing up from his book. "She'll be back soon. We still have to go walk the corridors. She wouldn't miss her prefect duties."

James thought about that for a moment before giving an aggravated sigh. "She's never been out this late before."

"Emmeline said she saw her walking back from Hogsmeade with Snivellus," Sirius spoke up, voice quick in an effort to stay focused on the game. "She's probably still with him."

"Greasy git," James grumbled, sitting in between Sirius and Remus. "I don't know what she sees in him."

"Who knows?" Remus sighed, knowing better than to let James rant on the subject. "So who are you taking to the ball?"

"I don't know," James groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"Come on, Potter, even you're not that pathetic," Lily teased, having entered the common room during Remus' inquiry. Grinning happily, she ruffled James's hair and stood behind the couch, leaning over the back to come down to his level. "Why don't you take Emmeline? She doesn't have a date yet."

"Yes she does," Sirius responded gruffly, looking back at her for an instant. All of a sudden, the cards exploded, leaving black soot on the side of his cheek. Peter let out a triumphant cheer.

"Who?" Lily challenged in disbelief. "I went shopping with her earlier. She would have told me."

Sirius smirked slightly. "She wasn't asked until after she got back," he stated, wiping the soot off his face.

"By who?" she demanded.

"By me," Sirius finally answered with a grin.

"What?!" Lily's hand slipped off the back of the couch, hitting James' shoulder. "Sorry," she muttered quickly to him before looking again to Sirius. "She said yes? To you?!"

"You said yes to Snape," Sirius pointed out. "Let's face it. That's a lot more shocking than me and Emmeline."

Lily's eyes narrowed. He was walking a dangerous line. "How so?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it doesn't make sense for someone as gorgeous as you to be going out with a git like that. It's bad enough that he's a Slytherin, but you didn't even pick a popular one."

"I've seen what popularity has done to you, Black, so forgive me for choosing someone with a little brain power."

"He's still a git," James interrupted, more than happy for an excuse to say how he felt about Lily's boyfriend. "Look at who he gets on with, Lily. They're not good people."

"If you got to know them, you'd see differently. I don't know why Black is always complaining about his cousins, or his brother for that matter. We all had lunch together today, and they're quite nice. Maybe if he hadn't run away this summer, he would have known that."

"That's it, Evans," Sirius snarled, standing to move around the couch in an angered attempt to get to her.

James stood up quickly and blocked Sirius, arms out. "Hey, stop," he insisted. "It's not worth it. She didn't mean it."

"Yes I did," Lily informed challengingly as Remus grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her quickly toward the portrait hole.

"I think it's time to patrol," he hissed, forcefully dragging her into the hall. "Hey, calm down," he soothed gently as he started walking with her. "Maybe we should go talk to Professor Dumbledore."

"Why?" Lily demanded. "Who my friends are is nobody's business. If I want to get together with Narcissa and Bellatrix, I will. They're a lot nicer than you think."

"You can't base that off of one lunch day," Remus insisted softly. "Lily, we just don't want you to get hurt. You know what they can be like."

"But that was in the past," she defended. "Not every Slytherin is bad."

Remus frowned, shaking his head. Apparently not every Gryffindor was good.

McGonagall, hidden in the next corridor, turned sharply on her heel and went straight to the Headmaster, her usually severe expression soft with worry.

"I think we might have a problem," she reported, pacing in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I overheard Miss Evans speaking to Mr. Lupin. She's convinced nothing bad will come from keeping company with Mr. Snape's friends. She already seems to have forgotten who is responsible for her attack last year."

"Miss Evans has always exhibited unfathomable kindness," Dumbledore answered thoughtfully. "Her naivety, however, could become a problem. I fear it is as we suspected, Minerva. Careful measures must be taken. If this is not handled delicately, she could be pushed to find refuge with the wrong people."

McGonagall nodded solemnly. "I'll ask Horace to keep an eye on her, shall I?"

Dumbledore nodded in response. "I believe he may be the only person she'll listen to on the matter now."

**A/n: Sorry this took so long to get up. I had to type it up in increments. I think it's pretty long, so I hope you all enjoyed it. I know not much happened in it, but there are some important plot distinctions here to clue into what's going to happen next chapter. Speaking of which, we have three more to go after this. Please review! Thanks!**


	15. Chapter Fourteen: The Pit of Snakes

Page | 8

_D/c: I do not own anything you recognize. What you don't is mine, so please don't steal._

Chapter Fourteen: The Pit of Snakes

"What should I do with my hair? It's always so plain," Lily sighed, sitting in front of the vanity mirror in the girls' dorm of the Slytherin house.

"You should get it cut if you're worried about how you wear it day to day," Narcissa smiled, standing behind Lily with her wand, ready to help with a hairdo. "Maybe get it layered. That would look nice on you. But for the ball, I think we should curl it and put it into a bun."

"Try some eyeliner and lipstick, too," Allison piped in as she slipped into her gown. "It'll really bring out your eyes."

"Do you think so?" Lily bit her lip uncertainly. "I've never really bothered with makeup. Do you think Sev would like it?"

"I don't think it could hurt," Narcissa agreed. "You'll look amazing," she assured as she started to pile Lily's curled hair onto the back of her head in a bun. "This is coming out perfectly."

"Oh good," Lily sighed. "I can't believe I'm getting so worked up over what I look like to my best friend."

"He's your boyfriend, though. It's different now," Allison pointed out.

"Well it shouldn't be," Lily sighed. "I guess it can't hurt to dress up from time to time, right?"

"Especially tonight," Narcissa confirmed with a nod. "Alright, what do you think?" She lowered her hands to admire her handiwork on Lily's hair.

Lily glanced back in the mirror, grinning excitedly. "It looks great!" she assured, turning her head to the side to admire the purposefully messy bun. "Wow, you're great at this!"

"I'm not bad," Narcissa smiled in agreement as she set her wand down and picked up the thin black eyeliner pencil. "Ok, look up and try not to blink," she instructed.

Lily sat perfectly still and did as instructed, forcing herself not to blink until she was allowed. Once her makeup was completed, she pulled on her dress and shoes.

"It looks like you're missing something," Allison commented once they had all dressed and finished getting ready.

Narcissa surveyed Lily carefully before snapping and pulling out a drawer in the vanity. "You need a necklace. Here, this should do it," she smiled innocently, pulling out a silver locket adorned with an ornate emerald letter S. She moved behind Lily to put it on, hooking the clasp in the back. "There. Now you look like a Slytherin."

"You look like royalty," Allison added with a grin.

"Severus is the Prince, after all," Narcissa smirked. "It's only natural that you're the Slytherin Princess."

Lily grinned widely, looking into the mirror. "I like the sound of that," she agreed, green eyes darkening menacingly beneath her mask. "Let's go."

"What is he doing here?" James grumbled, glancing over at Severus, who was standing at the other side of the hall with Evan Rosier and Sirius's brother, Regulus.

"Probably waiting for his date, just like we are," Remus sighed, glancing up the stairs again. "Be happy you even got a date this close to the ball."

"There they are," Sirius grinned widely, cutting off the bitter remark hanging on the edge of James's tongue. "Em, you look great," he complimented as he greeted the Ravenclaw dressed in a flowing, floor length, and dark blue gown.

James and Remus greeted their dates, fellow Gryffindors, before James glanced to Snape again. The unusually well groomed boy's expression now was stunned, eyes locked on the staircase. Dreading seeing what he was gawking at, James took a quick glance in that direction, immediately wishing he hadn't.

"Doesn't she look amazing?" Emmeline grinned proudly. "I helped her pick out the dress."

"Great job," Sirius nodded, looking stunned. Evans had never looked so good. "I think you look much prettier, though."

Remus rolled his eyes and headed into the hall with his date. Sirius and Emmeline followed, and after a few moments, James grudgingly tore his eyes from Lily to escort his date into the elaborately decorated hall.

"Wow," Severus breathed out quietly. "You look incredible, Lily," he grinned, greeting her with a kiss.

"Thanks," she grinned back at him, returning the kiss. "You clean up nicely," she told him flirtatiously, smirking slightly as she grabbed his tie and pulled him into the Great Hall.

He looked greatly confused, but stumbled along after her while glancing back at Narcissa. "The necklace? Really?" he mouthed to her, scowling.

"You're welcome," she smiled innocently back at him before heading in with Evan. Allison followed with Regulus.

"So what's the deal" Regulus whispered quietly to Narcissa, cutting in after a few songs. "Nobody's going after Potter anymore?"

"It's hard to plan things with Severus around," she sighed softly. "But we have two options right now. We can either convince Potter that Lily is here against her will--"

"The last time you tried that, he saved her. He didn't join up to do it, either."

"_Or_, we can wait until she and Severus are solid enough to get her to work for us, and then we'll see if she can't seduce Potter into joining."

"It could take months converting her," Regulus sighed heavily.

"Oh please," Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Between Severus and Slytherin's locket, she'll be setting attacks on the other Muggle-borns by the end of the week."

"So what's going to happen when she takes the locket off?"

"She won't," Narcissa assured confidently. "She'll get so used to the power that she'll never take it off without prompting. And Severus is a pushover. He won't make her take it off so long as she's happy. Eventually, it'll burn onto her neck so she won't be able to take it off if she wanted. It's perfect."

Regulus sighed and nodded. "Narcissa admittedly knew more about Dark magic than he did. Hopefully she'd thought things through this time.

"Let's go get something to drink," Chelsea, James's date, suggested, pulling him toward the far wall where an ornate table stood, proudly displaying a large selection of finger foods and drinks. "It's getting really hot," she told him in explanation.

"Yeah," he agreed as he followed her. He was having a pretty good time, despite his previous thoughts on not taking Lily. "I bet that dress doesn't help," he laughed, taking her hand.

"Neither does the mask," she grinned back at him.

"You look great, if that's any consolation," he assured, pouring glasses of punch for the both of them.

"Thanks," she smiled shyly. "So do you."

Remus stepped over, sighing. His date was nowhere to be found. "That went well," he stated sarcastically.

"Where did Dani go?" James inquired, glancing around for the missing girl.

"I had to break things off," Remus answered bitterly.

"I didn't know you two were actually together." Chelsea looked surprised.

"Neither did I," Remus scowled. "I shook her off when she told me where we were going to honeymoon."

James snorted. "Planning a bit quickly, wasn't she? I didn't know you had that effect on women, mate."

Remus wrinkled his nose distastefully. "I don't," he grumbled. "She was just mental."

James laughed. "Better luck next time, then. You haven't seen Sirius and Emmeline, have you?"

"They're around here somewhere," he shrugged. "They looked like they were having a good time so I left them alone. I'm going to go check up on Lily, though. She's been acting strange tonight."

"How so?" Chelsea frowned, looking around to find the redhead.

Remus remained silent as the three watched Lily speak in a seemingly harsh way to Regulus, who simply nodded obligingly and moved away. The Gryffindors looked in different directions as he walked over to the other side of the refreshments table. The younger boy quickly assembled a small plate of food, grumbling quietly to himself.

In his annoyance, his voice rose just enough for the three to catch. "Suddenly thinks she can tell everyone what to do because of a stupid necklace… rip it off her neck and chuck it in the lake…"

Once he had said that and poured a drink, he disappeared through the crowd, reappearing by Lily and Severus to present the food and punch to them.

"That doesn't sound like Lily," James noted with a frown.

"And what are they playing at, waiting on her like that?" Chelsea asked skeptically, giving the small band of Slytherins surrounding Lily a calculating look. "No Slytherins in their right minds would wait on a Muggle-born."

Remus shook his head. "I don't know. Don't worry about it, though. You two go have fun. I'll let Dumbledore know what Regulus was saying."

James looked uncertain but nodded and led Chelsea back out on the floor to dance. Although he was concerned for Lily, he trusted Remus and Dumbledore to sort it out in case Lily was in a state of mind which rendered her unable to, so he and Chelsea finished the evening dancing. They ended up back in the common room around midnight, talking about their plans for the holidays. Sirius and Emmeline joined them shortly after, resulting in Emmeline falling asleep against Sirius's shoulder in front of the fire.

At long last, the portrait hole swung open and Remus entered, supporting Lily, who looked very drained of energy and almost sickly.

"Almost there," he spoke to her in a quiet, comforting voice as he helped her to the couch. "There. I'll go get something for that headache," he promised, beckoning for James and Sirius to follow him to the dorm.

Sirius looked at Emmeline, torn for a moment before he got up, being careful to ease out from under her so as not to wake her. He soundlessly padded up the stairs behind James and Remus and stated, "Lily looks terrible. What's wrong with her?"

"I think it was that locket she was wearing. Dumbledore said it was nothing to worry about, but he didn't look very reassuring. Anyway, she has something of a migraine, though it looks worse than that," Remus replied, moving to a small homemade first aid kit and withdrawing a small vial of blue liquid. "She should be fine by morning. Luckily, Snape got her to take the necklace off." He pulled out another vial of what looked like liquid fire. "It started burning into her skin. I think if she'd worn it long enough she wouldn't have been able to get it off."

"Is she going to be ok?" James frowned, greatly troubled by the news of what had happened to one of his best friends.

"She'll be fine now. She just needs to take these and sleep it off," Remus assured, going back down to the common room and kneeling beside the couch. "Lily," he whispered. "I need you to take these and then you can sleep," he vowed gently and carefully helped her sit up.

Lily groaned in protest, but sat up enough to slump against Chelsea. "My head hurts," she whined softly.

"I know," Remus sighed patiently, uncapping the vial with the changing red and orange liquid. "Here, drink this one first," he instructed, opening the second while she downed the first.

Slowly, the marks on her neck from the necklace started to fade. She took the second one the moment it was given to her, sighing in instantaneous relief. "Thanks," she mumbled before lying down and passing out.

Remus smiled tiredly and collected the empty vials. "That should keep her knocked out until morning, but I'll stay down here tonight to make sure. She'll be good as new when she wakes up."

Sirius had lost interest in the discussion, gently waking Emmeline. "Come on, let's get you back to your common room," he smiled as she sluggishly looked up at him.

They left after a few moments, and James and Chelsea moved to the foot of the stairs to the girl's dorm.

"See you in the morning?" Chelsea inquired softly.

"Definitely," he confirmed, leaning forward to quickly kiss her goodnight. "Sleep well," he smiled.

"You too," Chelsea murmured, blushing. "Night," she added before walking upstairs.

Grinning widely, James bade Remus a good night and headed to his dorm.

Remus smiled to himself as he settled down into a large armchair. It was about time James moved on.

Author's note: I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated! College ended for the year and I took an entire day flying back home, so that was not productive in any way. I hope this clichéd masquerade scene was worth it. Tell me what you think of Chelsea, too please. Remember, reviews absolutely make my day. =)


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Trust

**D/c: I do not own anything you recognize from Harry Potter! Anything else is aaaalll mine, baby. ;)**

Chapter Fifteen: Trust

"He's not a good guy, Lily. That's all I'm trying to say. We want you to be safe."

"Oh, he's not a good guy?" Lily scowled in disapproval at James. "Are you kidding me? You attacked me last year, James! And I know it wasn't you, but he's never done anything like that. I know he hangs out with some sketchy people, but I made that mistake too."

"Yeah, and look where it got you!" James protested. "These new friends you're suddenly making? Lily, they're the ones who want you dead! Why won't you see that? Snape is not a good guy for you."

"And you are?"

"I…well yes, but this is hardly about me right now," he replied.

She threw her hands up in disbelief and turned away. "Leave it alone, James. I am so sick of defending him to you, and I'm sick of defending YOU to him!" she added, aiming the last bit to Remus.

"Wait, me?" Remus frowned. "Where did I come into the picture? I don't need defending."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Really? You think nobody's noticed how you disappear once a month? Two, if there's a blue moon?"

The words sent a tremor down Remus' spine. Honestly, how were two full moons in one month a good idea? His fear must have registered on his face, because Lily gave a nod.

"I'm not stupid, you know. I've been listening to his theories for three years now, and I've got a sneaking suspicion he's not wrong," she informed in a low voice, looking about the common room to make sure nobody else was there. "But I say he is anyway. I KNOW who he gets on with, and I know that their crowd having that kind of information would be disastrous for you. I know who my friends are, and I'm not going to betray them just because I chose the wrong people to go to a dance with."

Remus sighed and looked relieved, although still shaken up. How easily was he identified? "I'll be more careful in the future," he muttered.

"See that you are," she frowned before glaring to James. "In any event," she hissed. "I do not need protection, especially not from you."

"Hate to say it Evans," Sirius began with that stupid smirk he seemed to have inherited from James.

"Then don't," she snapped, storming off before he could make another remark.

She headed into the corridor and around the corner before she stopped. Maybe they were right. She really liked seeing Severus, but the more involved he got with the Slytherin crowd, the smaller the chance of her living until graduation became. He was a good man, but he had always tried to be popular, always presumably attempted to attain the same social status she enjoyed.

That was stupid. She hated social status. She didn't even try to become popular, but the fact that she wasn't bad looking and had the supposedly most attractive boy in the school chasing her for five years straight meant that she was a catch, whether she wanted to be or not.

Although to some people, she was something TO catch, in the literal sense of the word. It terrified her to think about. What was she supposed to do when she graduated and was left to fend for herself, outside the boundaries of Hogwarts? Once she was living on her own, would she have to go into hiding just to survive? And what if she was still with Severus? They'd wanted to start his apothecary shop, after all. It was all so complicated.

She was just glad the holidays were arriving. She never thought she'd want to be back at home after being trapped there for nearly an entire semester, but now she longed for the days when her only drama was sitting through dinner with Petunia's oversized walrus.

'Soon enough,' she sighed to herself as she continued walking, just for a change of scenery. 'Soon enough.'

"Lily, my dear! Not here alone tonight, are you?" Professor Slughorn tutted.

She turned away from the punch bowl she stood in front of and gave him a smile. "No sir," she assured. "Remus and I actually decided to come together instead of trying to find real dates this time."

The Slug Club's annual Christmas party was in full swing. Younger students paraded around in white serving uniforms while attempting to balance trays of strangely colored foods and drinks amidst the throng of partygoers.

"Wise choice," the man smiled as he glanced around for her date. He wasn't far off, having promised James that he would let Lily out of his sight. "But where is Mr. Snape tonight? I imagined you would have come to a party with your boyfriend."

"Oh," Lily sighed and took a sip of her punch before shaking her head. "We're sort of taking a break. Things have been…complicated, since the masquerade. I suppose we had a bit of a falling out."

"That's too bad," her professor sympathized, setting a consoling hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will work out in due time, my dear. For now, enjoy the party! Be merry!"

She smiled and nodded. "Oh, I will. Thank you sir," she grinned before moving back to Remus. "Okay, I get it now. He is a little creepy," she grimaced, knocking back the contents of her cup. "Has this been spiked yet? I could probably use a bit of firewhiskey."

"Who are you, Sirius?" Remus asked in surprise. "I'm cutting you off, whiskey or not," he added as he took her glass. "And he isn't creepy. James is just a prat who thinks every guy who smiles at you is trying to steal you away."

"I can't honestly say that I blame him anymore," Lily shuddered as she looked around. "Do you mind if I just head out of here? I'm a little tired."

Remus studied her with care. She did look more run down than usual, which he suspected was from a rather nasty break-up with Severus. But the holidays were coming, and he hoped it would be a good opportunity for her to get some rest.

"Of course not. I'll come with you," he promised, handing their glasses off to a passing student.

"You don't have to do that," she protested.

"But I'm going to. Stop arguing. We both know you've had enough of that lately," he warned, setting a hand on the small of her back to guide her out of the room.

For once, she really had no retort. She was sick of arguing. She let him walk her out and crossed her arms as they made a slow retreat back to the common room. "Thanks," she muttered before biting her lip. "James was right, wasn't he?"

"About what?"

"That I need protection," she frowned, staring at the stone flooring as they walked. "I always get myself in trouble. How do I manage it?"

Remus was silent for a while before asking, "Do you want the truth?"

She glanced over at him, brow furrowing. "I don't know, now that you ask…"

He didn't give her an option, though. "You're too nice. You trust people far too easily. I'm not saying that trust is a bad quality, but you place it in too many people and you tend to ignore the bad in them. Snape, his friends, and even me…"

"Wait a second," she stopped him. "Trusting you is far different than trusting Severus' friends. You have a good heart, Remus. Even if you don't believe it. And the fact that you think there's something wrong with you shows me that there isn't. They lack your conviction. That's how I know I can trust you, and not them."

He glanced over and smiled. "Thank you," he murmured. "You are one of a kind, Lily. And you know what? I don't think you need to settle for a guy who isn't willing to let go of bad friends for someone like you."

"Does this mean if I dated you, you'd stop spending all your time with Peter, James, and Sirius?" she teased.

A barking laugh pulled from his throat. "No, it doesn't. Just know that no matter how much you like Severus, and how much James pursues you, they aren't your only two options." He paused and added, "Not that you aren't a great girl or anything, but you're not really my type…or, you're TOO much my type. Er, what I mean to say is-."

"We wouldn't work out," she laughed, patting his arm. "I get it, don't worry. And I know I trust too easily. I'll work on it."

She had to. Her life depended on it.

**A/n: Guys, I haven't updated in two years and there are still people adding this to their favorites/watch list. I was so touched by another notification that I got today that I decided to present you all with this new chapter =) So if you're still out there, my wonderful loyal readers, please review! I will update as often as I can until this is finished! **

**Believe it or not, I did have the entire thing written out, start to finish. However, I now dislike the cop out of an ending I wrote previously, so I have this wonderful new plotline for you! Enjoy!**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Defiance

**D/c: I do not own any of the characters. Just the plot =)**

Chapter Sixteen: 

"You're being pathetic. Stop moping around," Narcissa frowned as she sat in the compartment Snape had taken refuge in.

He stared out the window of the train and watched the scenery pass by. "I don't even know why I'm going home. It's not like I'd get to see her over the break anyway. Thanks to you and that stupid necklace."

"It is not my fault she decided to take a break with you, Severus," she defended.

"You pushed it too far!" he growled as he looked over at her, his dark eyes hardened. "What were you trying to do, anyway? Convert her? Do you really think she'd be stupid enough to join the man dedicated to eradicating people like her?"

"Of course she isn't that stupid," she rolled her eyes. "But the Dark Lord wants Potter's family to join us, and having her would be the way to get him."

Severus stared at her, appalled. "So you're using my girlfriend to lure in someone else we all hate? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"We would have had him ages ago if Lucius hadn't been stupid about hurting her the last time. A simple kidnapping was all he had to do, and he went about it the wrong way," she frowned.

"What was the point of that?" he scowled.

She sighed and sat down next to him. "We were going to use her to bargain with Potter. We would have kept her alive if he joined us. Of course, we were never going to kill her because of your odd attachment to her."

"It's called love," he informed, his tone harsh. "You should try it sometime."

She ignored him. "That was all he was supposed to do, but he couldn't resist tampering with Potter's mind to see how weak he was."

"He gained nothing from it," he grumbled. "Gave me a heart attack, but nothing else. Was that what you were trying to do with the necklace? Possess her?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't a bad plan. Once she started acting like one of us, Potter would have joined up just to keep her happy."

"You overlooked a crucial detail," he glared. "Potter has finally moved on. His focus isn't on her anymore."

"Lupin seems to have feelings for her," Narcissa fished. "We could use his affections to sway him and thus get to Potter."

"Stop. Just stop it. I don't care what you do to Potter personally, but keep Lily out of it from now on," he demanded. "I don't want you or anyone else going near her, targeting her, or trying to hurt her ever again."

She almost laughed, and it infuriated him even further. "Severus, your little crush was cute for a while, but you can't honestly have a future with someone like her. The Dark Lord will not tolerate someone with such despicable blood."

"Then count me out," he growled. "My future with her is more important than this man you all seem willing to kill for. I will not follow anyone who cannot accept her."

"Severus, don't be stupid."

"I am not being stupid! I was being stupid when I agreed to any of this. I'm out, and you can tell that to your lord," he sneered.

She rose at once, looking as though he'd slapped her. "You do not want to become an enemy of this man, of us."

"Neither did Lily," he retorted. "But she is. And if you can't accept her because of something as stupid as her blood status, I don't want any part of this." Besides, he was half-blood. What was so different about him?

"She will be targeted by others, if not by me," she warned. "And you will be harmed if you stand in the way."

"Fine," he growled. "You don't get it, do you? I would die to protect her, even from you."

Narcissa frowned as she surveyed him with a solemn expression. "I hope it never comes to that," she murmured before slipping out.

It was only two days into the break and Severus already couldn't stand being home. He spent the day wandering around the town, ending up at the grocery store. He didn't know why he went there anyway, knowing he didn't have the money to get anything. Yet here he was.

And there she was. He blinked in surprise before realizing it was Monday. She always did the shopping then. Maybe that's why he had wandered here with no money.

He sighed as she ducked down an aisle whilst staring hard at the list in her hand. She appeared stressed, which was a distinctly different expression than she wore when she was merely concentrating. Petunia and her boyfriend must have been at the house.

He should probably just leave. He didn't need to add to her stress by going after her and confronting the fact that they were no longer dating. But instead of moving away, from her, his feet carried him closer.

'What are you doing?' he demanded mentally. 'Stop it! She doesn't want to see you. If she did, she wouldn't have broken it off! Leave her alone!'

Yet before he knew it, he was standing in the aisle beside her. Shoot, what was he supposed to do now? He had to say something. He would just look mental otherwise.

"Can I help you?" she spoke first but didn't look over at him. She seemed adamant to avoid his gaze.

There were a thousand things he could have said. The best option seemed to be groveling, apologizing for his stupidity and vowing that he had left that life behind.

What he actually blurted was, "I think you might be in danger."

The resolve to ignore him disappeared, and her gaze flickered to his. Her usually bright green eyes were dark and hardened as they locked onto his.

"In case you haven't noticed, that isn't really news," she glared. "I'm always in danger, it seems."

He swallowed hard. He'd never seen that look in her eyes, not even when she was dealing with Potter. It was terrifying.

"I'm sorry, Lily. You have to believe me; I had nothing to do with what happened at the ball," he implored. "I would never hurt you like that."

"Everyone who says that actually has hurt me, Snape." Her flippant use of his last name made him flinch. She knew how much he hated his family name.

He hung his head and muttered, "You can be as mad at me as you want and I'll understand. Please just know that no matter how upset you are, it's nothing compared to how angry I am with myself for putting you anywhere near this situation. I wanted you to get along with my friends so badly that I couldn't see how awful they really are."

She looked away and picked an item off the shelf in front of her, just to look elsewhere. He could understand that.

"I didn't ever mean to, but I put you in danger, and I am so sorry for that," he continued, his voice soothing now and not so frantic. "I don't deserve a second chance, but if you'll allow it, I want to prove that I would die if it meant protecting you. I would change everything for you, because I love you."

She set the item back down as he waited for a tense moment for her reaction. Finally, she asked, "What are your friends going to think of that? You're just dumpster diving by being with me. I'm worthless." Her eyes burned with tears as she looked away from him again.

The increase in her blinking made a hard realization hit him. Petunia had always been the favorite while Lily was growing up, and Lily hadn't felt good enough up until the discovery of her powers. It had given her a brand new identity, a new life where she could excel and make friends free of her family's biases. Now to find out that there were more people who didn't see her as good enough was devastating.

And it was all his fault this time.

"You are not worthless," he contradicted as he turned her toward him. "Look at me and listen, Lily. I love you. You are worth more to me than my own life, than my comfort, my friends, my popularity. I won't be hanging around them anymore. I can't tell you how much I care about you. I would do anything to keep you safe and make you happy. I'd even get along with Potter if it would make you happy, and I hate him! Does none of that tell you how much you mean to me?"

She tried to avoid his gaze, though she looked to him at last. "You would really try to get along with James for me?" she asked, voice small.

He really hoped she didn't actually expect that from him. "Of course I would," he promised.

Her eyes sparkled again, but there was no trace of tears this time. Thank Merlin. It meant she wasn't mad at him anymore.

Without warning, she hugged him close and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you," she whispered.

Severus wound his arms around her, a heavy weight lifting off his chest. "Don't thank me. I'm a prat."

"Yeah you are," she returned, but grinned as she pulled away. "But I love you anyway."

A grin of his own nearly split his face. "I love you too, Lily. I always will."

He thought nothing could bring him down in that moment, until a cold voice rang out behind the two.

"Well isn't that sweet."

**A/n: Hope you guys liked that turn of events! Dun dun dunnnnn! Review and make your guesses as to what's going to happen next!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Protection

**D/c: I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter. Just the plots =)**

Chapter Seventeen: 

"Kids, we're going out," Mrs. Potter informed the Marauders, who were congregated around a chess board in the living room. "Don't wait up. We'll be in late."

"Got a date?" Sirius teased as he looked toward the woman's husband, away from Remus and James' intense game.

"Something like that," Mr. Potter smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "James, make up the spare room before you go to bed, please."

"Why?" James frowned, moving a chess piece before looking over. "You having people over tomorrow?"

"If you must know, Lily Evans wanted to come over and see us," he informed.

James' confusion turned to a sour expression. "Really funny, Dad."

"Oh, I'm not kidding. She likes us a lot more than you."

"Wouldn't surprise me," James rolled his eyes.

"Darling," his mother cut in as she set her hand on his father's shoulder. "We have to go," she whispered, her tone urgent.

Mr. Potter frowned and nodded. "James, the spare room," he warned as he ruffled his son's hair. "Love you, bud."

His wife echoed the sentiment and James returned it before the pair headed out.

"You shouldn't have mentioned her," Mrs. Potter chided once they were outside.

"We have to prepare him somehow," he responded before Apparating with his wife.

They landed on a large plot of land, nothing more than a field with a small shack built to one side. Mr. Potter strode up and knocked on the door.

"They should put a light out front here," he murmured as he stepped back and waited. "It's too dark at night not to have one."

"That's what you're thinking about right now?" his wife glared. "What is wrong with you?"

"Just something I noticed," he frowned.

The door opened and the two were ushered in by a younger redheaded man.

"Arthur," Mr. Potter greeted as the door was shut behind them. "How is she?"

"Still in shock, I reckon," Arthur answered, a somber expression in his eye. "She hasn't said a word since we brought her over. Dumbledore hoped you might be able to help."

"If we can't, the boys might be able to."

Arthur gave a solemn nod and led the way into the living room, where his wife Molly sat with Lily. Her arms were wrapped around the younger girl, trying to offer whatever comfort she could in light of the tragedy that had befallen.

Mrs. Potter wasted no time in sitting on the other side of the girl and rubbing her back. "Lily?"

Lily's dulled eyes shifted over to take in the others in the room, but she didn't speak.

"How are you doing, love?" the woman pressed.

Lily shrugged, gaze falling to the floor again.

Mr. Potter frowned. "Where was she when it happened?" he asked Arthur in a muted tone.

"At the market," he answered. "When they realized she wasn't home, they burned the house and went after her."

"Why isn't she hurt, then? What did they want if not to injure her?"

"They tried to, from what we've heard. Severus Snape defended her," Arthur explained. "He's resting in the bedroom. He suffered a bit of blood loss and took the Cruciatus for her, from what we can tell. We arrived shortly after they began the attack and warded them off."

Mr. Potter nodded. "Did you see who was involved?"

"No, they were all wearing masks," the tall man frowned. "All matching, and very practiced in Dark magic. It's one thing to know the incantation for the Cruciatus, but to use it so effectively against a person…they've done this before. There is a war coming, and these poor kids were just caught in the middle of it."

"I think it's a little more than that," Mr. Potter frowned. "They've attacked Lily before, and on school grounds. Has Dumbledore spoken about security at all?"

"There is a spell to make sure outsiders who don't have permission won't get on the grounds," Arthur assured. "Teachers will be on the highest guard, especially when it comes to Lily and her friends."

Mr. Potter nodded. "Good. The next time they try and target my boy," he growled, but halted himself. "At any rate, we'll bring them to our house. They'll be safe there for the rest of break." He paused and inquired, "Did anyone get out?"

"Her sister survives. She was over at her boyfriend's when the incident took place. Dumbledore has taken care to wipe enough of her memory to keep her from blaming Lily for her parents' deaths."

"Good. Lily's lost enough tonight. Is it safe to move Severus? We should go."

"It's hard to say. He's in a lot of pain. Maybe we can get Lily to help with him. She needs something to take her mind off her losses."

Mr. Potter nodded and walked over to the three women. "Lily? We're going to try and move Severus to our home. You'll both be safer there. Could you come help?"

She glanced up and nodded, disentangling herself from the comforting hold of the two flanking her. She stood and led the way into the other room, peeking her head in.

"Sev?" she whispered, the first time she'd uttered a word since the incident. "Are you up?"

His eyes opened at the sound and shot over to her. "Yeah," he muttered as he tried to push himself up.

"Don't do that," Lily pleaded as she hastened to his side. "Please be careful. You're hurt."

"Better me than you," he insisted and managed to sit up with a groan. "How are you?"

They shared a glance and nothing more on the subject.

"We're going to the Potters. For safety, that's it. I promise I'll keep James away from you."

"As long as it keeps you safe, I don't care where we go," he sighed.

Mr. Potter waved back to his wife, letting her know that they were about to leave. "We just need to get you out of bed and we can Apparate home," he promised Severus.

The boy nodded and tried to ease himself to his feet, only able to do so with Lily's help. He leaned heavily against her, but she didn't seem to mind. He knew she wouldn't. She was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for.

Mrs. Potter appeared in the doorway, and Lily offered a quiet utterance of gratitude to the Weasleys before they Apparated back. They landed in the room James was supposed to have prepared, and Mrs. Potter tsked in annoyance.

"One simple task," she grumbled as she turned down the bed and helped Severus ease into it. "There you are. You two stay here and relax, and I'll go get some medication and food."

"Thank you," Lily whispered as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. She looked over at the boy in distress at his state, waiting for the others to leave the room.

"Sev-."

"No. Don't apologize," he insisted. "Lil, I'm fine. It hurts a little but I feel okay. This is not your fault. You didn't force me to defend you."

"But those spells were meant for me!" she whimpered, her stony demeanor giving way to panic.

"You didn't do anything to make them attack you," he assured as he took her hand. "You can't keep beating yourself up every time something goes wrong. You'll worry yourself to death, and I would miss you far too much to let that happen."

Her lips twitched into a feeble smile for about a second before disappearing again. "I just can't keep doing this, Sev. I can't even finish school if it means giving them access to me."

"Don't say that. Dumbledore will make sure nothing happens when we get back. Hogwarts is supposed to be our haven, Lil. It's where we go to get away from all our problems. Nobody is going to touch you while you're there." He caught her look and hastily added, "Again."

"I really hope you're right," she whispered as she curled up with him and let his arms encircle her. "Can we just go back to when we were dating and everything was okay?"

Severus laughed, the rumble in his chest serving to comfort her. "Hate to break it to you, but nothing went right the last time we were dating."

"Maybe not, but it didn't seem so bad when we were."

He beamed at that. "Yeah, let's go back to that, then. If you want."

"Yes please," was her feeble answer. "Things don't work without you. It's so much easier to get through, knowing you're here."

"I never left, Lil," he murmured as he pulled her closer and rubbed her back. "I'm not going to, either." He paused to take a deeper breath before adding, "I'm going to marry you someday, and we'll have all the time we want."

She buried her face against his neck, lips teasing the skin as she whispered, "I can't wait." Overwhelmed with everything that had happened, she began to cry, and Severus didn't move a muscle until she'd sobbed herself to sleep.

He hated seeing her cry, but she needed to get it out. Once he was sure she was resting, he drifted into his own light slumber. If she woke up, he wanted to be able to get up and help her cope with this new, harsh reality. This trial would pass in time, and he would still be there when it did.

Thank goodness she hadn't rejected the idea of marrying him. That would have made it much harder to be there for her.

**A/n: Hope you guys enjoyed that! I know it didn't write out her being attacked by Death Eaters or anything, but she's dealt with a lot of that already, right? Right. So I settled for Lily/Sev fluff instead. Didn't think you guys would mind ;) Review and let me know!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Moving On

**D/c: I do not own any of the characters you recognize. Everything else is original and mine =)**

Chapter Eighteen: Moving On

Severus was up and moving only a day later. By then, Lily's grief had hit full force, so crippling that she couldn't get out of bed. That left Severus to run around the mansion to get her food and tea, which she drank an abundance of when she was upset. He didn't mind, but it meant that once again, he was subject to running into James and his cronies.

He met Remus first, to his relief. The worn down boy looked startled, but was more curious than intent on harming Severus.

"Snape," he frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Severus returned his look. "Potter's parents didn't tell you? Death Eaters attacked Lily's house last night and then went after her when they realized she wasn't home."

Remus' tired eyes popped open wide. "Is she okay? What happened?" he demanded.

"She's fine physically," Severus answered. "I took the curses meant for her, so she wasn't harmed. Emotionally, she's a wreck. I can't get her out of bed."

Remus swallowed hard. "Who did she lose?"

"Her parents," Severus murmured, realizing how hard the news would hit. Even the Marauders were well acquainted with Lily's parents after their summer trip. This would be difficult for them all to get past.

Remus' gaze dropped to the floor as a display of his own grief. "I was afraid you'd say that," he murmured, his tone heavy with sorrow. "Can I do anything?"

"I don't know, honestly," Sev sighed, rubbing his face. "I'm doing the best I can, but it hasn't helped a lot so far. I doubt she'll eat, but I'm going to bring her some food and tea. Maybe company would help right now? You always seemed to be good at cheering her up. Seeing you might get her talking again, at least."

"I'll give it a shot," Remus assured. "And I'll tell James and Sirius to cool it for a few days so she doesn't have to deal with them."

Sev nodded. "I really appreciate that."

"Well, don't thank me. Christmas season, good cheer and all that," the teen wolf muttered before walking off.

Sev paused and smiled as Remus faded from sight. That kid wasn't so bad, for a wolf.

"Sev, come on. I don't want to," Lily groaned, tossing aside the dress that had been laid out for her. She buried her face back in the pillow, curling up in bed.

"Lil, you're not staying up here while everyone else is having fun. It's Christmas Eve!"

"I don't want to go to a party. I'll just drag everyone else down," her muffled voice whined against the pillow's fabric.

"Lily Elizabeth, get out of bed. I am not going down there to deal with Potter by myself," Severus scowled. "Get dressed and let's go."

After a moment, she peeked up at him. "Fine," she muttered as she pushed herself upright and snatched the dress off the bed.

Severus couldn't help being proud of himself for standing up to her. As far as he was concerned, his days of being a pushover were gone. From now on, he was going to do what was best for her even if she didn't want him to.

He adjusted his own dress clothes for the night, a gift from the Potters. Normally, he would have hated the charity, but it was his first really good set of dress robes and he wanted to look nice for Lily. He straightened his bow tie as he stared into the mirror, grinning. Even his hair looked good, cut short and grease-free. Who knew switching to a decent shampoo could do so much?

Lily cleared her throat behind him and he turned, mouth dropping open. She was a vision, standing before him in a glittering gold gown with her hair curled and cascading down over one shoulder.

"Well?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

He realized he'd been silent and staring for too long. "Uh, well," he cleared his throat. "Wow. You look incredible, Lily."

"Stop it," she blushed, although it looked like she was trying to resist the involuntary act.

"Truly," he promised, taking her hand to kiss it. "The belle of the ball, as always."

"It's not a ball, and shove off," she huffed. "Sev, I don't want you to make me smile."

"Then you shouldn't have come out tonight," he teased, hugging her. "Now come on! It's Christmas Eve!"

She sighed and allowed him to lead her out, down to the main hallway, and to the top of the ballroom's grand staircase. There, they paused and surveyed the high class party taking place in the room below.

"Shall we, m'lady?" Sev grinned as he offered her his arm.

"If I have to," was her bleak response as she took his arm and the two descended.

The gala was as dull an affair as Lily feared it would be. Severus seemed to be having fun living the high life, but Lily really wasn't interested. She thought it was too excessive, wasteful almost. She stood next to the refreshment table as her boyfriend mingled, gaining admirers of his revolutionary potions practices each time he spoke of them.

"He really should start an apothecary," Remus murmured in her ear as he sidled up beside her.

"We've talked about it," she replied as she sipped at her champagne. "We'll need some seed money, but I think we're going to do it."

"Is that what you want to do, though?"

"Are you kidding? Organizing inventory, working with people, helping them heal? I would love it," she assured, eyes glued to Severus. "And I know it would make him happy. He deserves that."

Remus smiled, glad she was talking about the hopeful future instead of fixating on her recent tragedies. "Good. As long as you're happy too, Lily. That's all we want for you, you know. That's all Severus wants for you too. As much as I hate to admit it, he's a decent guy."

He glanced over just in time to see her crack a smile. He never thought he'd be so glad to see that grin again, but he felt a huge swell of relief when he noticed it. It was such a natural part of Lily's personality that he often took it for granted.

"I am glad to see that after six years, you are coming around," Lily informed. "He's a very sweet man. None of you could see that in the past because of James' unhealthy crush on me, though." She looked around the room before asking, "Where is he? I haven't seen him once since I arrived."

"Chelsea came for a visit," Remus grinned. "He's been with her nonstop. I think they're dancing right now."

"She's here?" she repeated in surprised, her gaze settling at last on the couple. "Are they dating yet?"

"He's planning to ask her tonight," Remus confirmed.

"Good," Lily nodded. "They need to be together. They're so sweet." She watched James whisper something in Chelsea's ear and the two moved toward the exit, pausing only to grab their coats. "He's going to do it now, I'll be you anything."

"Who's going to do what?" Severus asked as he walked over and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"James is asking Chelsea to be his girlfriend," Lily filled him in. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Nobody did," Remus added. "About time, though."

"You're not kidding," Lily smirked, and for the rest of the evening, the light returned to her eyes.

**A/n: Guys, I am so sorry that took almost two months to get this up! Things got crazy busy and I'm in the process of editing my own original novel to be published but, well, it's a novel. It's really long and there's a lot of work that goes into editing it. So I don't know when I'll have the next one up, but I hope you enjoyed this one! =)**


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